CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina Department of Athletics honored its top athletic and academic performers of 2021-22 on Monday evening at the 2022 Student-Athlete Excellence Awards at the HTC Center.
 
The program, hosted by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), was held for the first time since the 2018-19 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program included remarks from Coastal Carolina University President Dr. Michael T. Benson, D.Phil. and Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics and University Recreation Matt Hogue, as well as a year-in-review highlight video, GPA recognition, and athletic and academic awards.
 
Male Athlete of the Year
Grayson McCall – Football
 
McCall led the Coastal Carolina football team to an 11-2 record including the program's first FBS postseason bowl win in school history. He played and started in 11 games, completing 73 percent of his passes for 2,873 yards and 27 touchdowns. He only threw three interceptions during the season. He also added 290 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. 
 
During the 2021 season, McCall broke the NCAA record for passing efficiency. His 207.6 passing efficiency rating eclipsed the records set by Alabama's Mac Jones (203.1) in 2020 and LSU's Joe Burrow (202) in 2019. Both of those quarterbacks later became first-round NFL draft picks.
 
For his efforts, McCall was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year for the second-straight season and earned first-team All-Sun Belt first-team honors for the second time in two years.
 
Nationally, McCall was named a semifinalist for both the Maxwell and Davey O'Brien Awards. He was also a top-10 finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and won the 2021 Blanchard-Rogers Trophy, awarded to South Carolina's Most Outstanding Collegiate Player of the Year.
 
Female Athlete of the Year
Melissa Jefferson – Women's Track & Field
 
Coastal Carolina's first individual national champion, Jefferson has shattered both school and Sun Belt Conference records since stepping foot on campus. The 2022 NCAA Division I Indoor 60-meter champion is the first Chanticleer to garner votes for the prestigious The Bowerman award, an annual track & field award that is the highest accolade given to the year's best student-athlete in American collegiate track & field.
 
The Georgetown, S.C. native had a record-setting performance on day two of the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship meet, as the junior sprinter won the gold medal in the 60-meter dash with a CCU school and Sun Belt Conference record time of 7.22. She crossed the finish line 0.17 of a second faster than the next finisher.
 
Jefferson recorded another Sun Belt Conference and Coastal Carolina University record time of 7.09, which was also the second-fastest time in all of NCAA Division I women's indoor track & field this season, at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. Her time of 7.09 is tied for the sixth-fastest time all-time in the NCAA Division I Women's Indoor Track & Field record books for the 60-meter dash.
 
To start the outdoor season this year, she has already set a new CCU and Sun Belt Conference record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.00 and was part of the 4x100-meter relay team that posted a time of 43.58, which set both a new school and Sun Belt Conference record at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational.
 
Presidential Student-Athlete of the Year
Silas Kelly - Football
 
A co-captain and a two-time graduate of Coastal Carolina University, Kelly was named to the 2021-22 CoSIDA Academic All-America Division I football first team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), for the second consecutive year. Kelly graduated with a degree in both exercise and sport science and business management in December 2020 and graduated with a master's in business administration (MBA) in December 2021.
 
A two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District (District 4) selection (2020 and 2021) and a member of the 2022 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society, he was the recipient of the team BAM Award and was tabbed the Team Defensive MVP. Off the field, he has participated in the United Way of Horry County Caring for Kindergartners, Adopt a Chant Christmas campaign, and A Night to Shine Prom.
 
Kelly earned All-Sun Belt first-team honors and his fourth all-conference accolade overall this season. Kelly led the Chants and ranked third in the Sun Belt with 110 total tackles and an average of 8.5 per game. He finished the regular season with 8.5 tackles-for-loss, 2.5 sacks, and a SportsCenter Top-10 (No. 3) interception at South Alabama (Nov. 26).
 
The 2020 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year played in the 2022 Hula Bowl Senior All-Star Game and became just the third Chant in program history to total 300 career tackles, finishing his career with 340 career tackles.
 
Male Newcomer of the Year
Bastien Huon – Men's Tennis (Spring 2021)
 
Following two years at Campbell University, Huon transferred to Coastal Carolina in 2020-21 to finish his collegiate career. In 2021, Huon was named to the All-Sun Belt first team for singles play and ranked as high as No. 100 nationally in the ITA singles rankings. He led the team with 10 wins in singles play, despite missing the final three matches of the regular season due to an injury. His 10 wins were also the second-most in the Sun Belt at the No. 1 singles spot.
 
This year in 2022, Huon picked up All-Sun Belt first-team honors for the second consecutive season in singles play, as he again was ranked nationally by the ITA. He tallied 11 wins on the season, all of which occurred in the top flight, and were tied for the most at the No. 1 position in the Sun Belt Conference entering the conference postseason tournament.
 
Female Newcomer of the Year
Irena Drobnjak – Beach Volleyball (Spring 2021)
 
After having her freshman season abruptly cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, Drobnjak flourished in her first full season on the sand at Coastal in spring 2021. She was named the 2021 ASUN Freshman of the Year, as sophomores were eligible because of the COVID pandemic in 2020, and earned a spot on the ASUN All-Freshman team. She also picked up 2021 ASUN first-team All-Conference recognition and was named to the 2021 ASUN Beach Volleyball Championship All-Tournament team.
 
In 2021, Drobnjak along with her partner Sarolota Svobodova earned the 2021 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top Flight Award, as the duo went 21-7 overall while playing at the No. 1 flight all season long. She was also named to the 2021 ASUN All-Academic team.
 
Thus far this year, Drobnjak is 19-6 overall on the season while playing at the top two flights. She is 7-5 at the top flight and 12-1 overall at the No. 2 flight while playing with Martine Kragholm at the No. 1 flight and both Madie Lichty and Ellie Hanford at the No. 2 flight.

Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Antwine Loper – Football
 
Loper has been a shining example of a student-athlete over his time at CCU. The local product from Carolina Forest High School has earned two degrees from Coastal Carolina, graduating in December 2020 with a bachelor's degree in biology and earning his master's degree in sport management in December 2021. He posted a 4.0-grade point average while completing his master's degree this year while starting all 13 games on the offensive line for the football team that went 11-2 overall and won the program's first-ever FBS postseason bowl game with a victory over Northern Illinois in the 2021 Tailgreeter Cure Bowl.
 
Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Abbey Montoya - Softball
 
Montoya has been named to the Coastal Carolina University President's List in six of the seven semesters she has been at the beach, including both the fall and spring terms last year. Now a senior, Montoya holds a 3.995 cumulative GPA as a biology major. Last year in 2021, she hit .284 with four home runs, two triples, two doubles, 15 RBIs, 18 runs scored, and stole six bases over 39 games played. This year, Montoya is hitting .238 with five home runs, five doubles, 18 RBIs, 18 runs scored, and four stolen bases.
 
Male Academic Triumph of the Year
Mael Couteau – Men's Soccer
 
Female Academic Triumph of the Year
Melissa Jefferson – Women's Track & Field
 
Voted on by the Student-Athlete Academic Services staff, the Academic Triumph of the Year Awards recognizes a male and female student-athlete who has persevered despite the difficulty to achieve success academically.
 
The winners of the inaugural award are Mael Couteau and Melissa Jefferson.
 
Linda C. Vereen Team Academic Excellence Award
Men's Tennis – 3.698 GPA
Women's Golf – 3.687 GPA
 
The Linda C. Vereen Team Academic Excellence Awards were given to the men's tennis and women's golf teams with the highest combined GPA. Both teams led the department in team grade point average this season.
 
Student-Athlete Faculty Member of the Year
Dr. Marcos Daou – Assistant Professor of Kinesiology
 
The Faculty Member of the Year award, as voted upon by the student-athletes, is given annually to a faculty or staff member that is seen to have the greatest impact on the development of our students. Dr. Daou teaches sport and exercise behavior and motor behavior and directs the undergraduate research in exercise and sport science.
 
Savannah Thompson Humanitarian Award
Molly Sullivan
 
Molly Sullivan was awarded the seventh annual Savannah Thompson Humanitarian Service Award. Named after its inaugural winner, the award recognizes those people in the Coastal Carolina community who make a difference and inspire those around them.

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