Freed-Hardeman University

The Lions and Lady Lions traded their jerseys for suits and dresses as the Freed-Hardeman University athletic department honored their student-athletes during the second annual Roar Awards held in late April. The student-athletes joined the athletic staff as well as family and friends to join in a meal before each team recognized three student-athletes. Voted by their teammates, each team selected a "Best Teammate," "Best Christian Example" and "Team MVP" honoree. Capping off the celebrations, the athletic training department honored three student-athletes before the top four awards were announced. The sports medicine department honored Haley Suggs as the "Workhorse," Devin Tomlinson as "Diligent Dan" and Brinley Cousar as "Overcomer." "The Roar Awards are special because it is all about the student-athletes," FHU Director of Athletics Jonathan Estes said. "We have some of the best student-athletes in the world. They embody the spirit and attitudes that we want in our families, in our churches, in our communities and in our world. We want to honor their commitment to the classroom, their commitment to each other, their commitment to the Lord and their commitment to their sport." Voted by the coaches and athletic staff, women's basketball's KJ White was selected as the Outstanding Female Student-Athlete. Men's basketball's Quan Lax was honored as Outstanding Male Student-Athlete, adding to a list of accolades that included first-team All-NAIA tournament, first-team All-American, first-team All-MSC and MSC tournament Most Valuable Player. For the Outstanding Individual Achievement, the staff voted for baseball's Colton Huntt. Men's basketball's Hunter Scurlock was voted as the 2024 recipient.

FHU Lions head coach Drew Stutts and the team brought the Big Red Banner and the championship trophy home to Henderson with a 71-67 championship victory over the Langston (Okla.) University Lions in a hard fought game on March 26, 2024. Utilizing phrases such as "Elite is Earned," and "Today is The Day," and "Committed to the Culture," Coach Stutts believes his team lived up to his expectations, saying, "They have just showed so much resilience and so much toughness tonight. The last thing we talked about before we went out of the locker room was 'the tougher team wins' and I think we have proven that throughout the course of this year." The Lions (32-4) lived up to a championship game with neither team leading by more than two possessions. The Lions of FHU shot 47% from the floor while their opponents ended with a 42% mark from the floor. Despite being out-rebounded 39-27, Freed-Hardeman forced 19 Langston turnovers and turned those into 24 points. "We are extremely proud," Freed-Hardeman University President David R. Shannon said. "Any team that wins the national championship there has to be a lot of grit, a lot of skill, and great coaching. And we get to see that at Freed-Hardeman." "This is a huge accomplishment for Coach Stutts and the team and a great day for Freed-Hardeman athletics and the Freed-Hardeman family," said FHU athletic director Jonathan Estes. "The mission is to utilize your God-given abilities to His glory and I think these guys did that." Making the All-Tournament team were FHU starts Quan Lax, Hunter Scurlock, and JJ Wheat. Wheat was honored with the Charles Stevenson Hustle Award while Hunter Scurlock ended his illustrious FHU career being named as the Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player of the tournament. "It's a good way to end and it's been worth every bit of the ride," said Scurlock after thinking over his five-year career.

Freed-Hardeman University student-athletes traded their cleats and uniforms for dresses and suits to celebrate their accomplishments on and off the field during the inaugural Roar Awards Saturday, April 22, 2023. "The Roar Awards are about celebrating the student-athletes that practice and sweat and grind to be the best they can be on the field of competition," FHU's athletic director Jonathan Estes, who spearheaded the event, said. "The student-athletes who aren't motivated by personal glory, but strive to be a part of something bigger: team, relationship, family. The Roar Awards are about celebrating them."

Freed-Hardeman University's Kortland Martin received the 2022 Heart of Lion award presented annually to the senior intercollegiate athlete who in the estimation of the entire coaching staff has best exemplified the strength and courage of a lion. A 5'11" point guard from Humboldt, Tennessee, Martin led the Lions in scoring this year with 20.5 points per game. He shot 88% from the free-throw line and 40% from behind the arc. In his junior and senior years, he was elected to the Mid-South Conference First Team by the opposing coaches. He was also named to the NAIA All-American Third Team. Martin holds the school's all-time scoring record with 2,321 points. But he is more than a scoring machine. He also posted career totals of 459 assists, 157 steals, 423 rebounds, and 334 successful three-point shots. "Kortland is just a special young man. He isn't just a talented player; he is a special person," Head Coach Drew Stutts said. One thing that made him special is that he didn't mind playing different roles; he just wanted to win. "That attitude and approach speak to his character and the young man he is on and off the court," Stutts said. "Kortland is simply a winner."

Freed-Hardeman captured the 2022 Mid-South Conference baseball regular-season championship April 23. The Lions finish the regular season with a 34-13 overall record and a 19-5 record in MSC play. Freed-Hardeman wins its first MSC championship and will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament which begins on May 5 in Bowling Green, Ky. Freed-Hardeman ranks fourth in the MSC in runs scored (337) and in home runs with 58. On the mound, the Lions rank first in the conference with a 4.49 ERA and fourth with 336 strikeouts.

The Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions take all four games in their final regular-season series over the Bethel University Wildcats. The first game of the day saw Chloe Winters begin the game in the circle as she was able to record 10 strikeouts in just five innings of work, and then was followed up by Brittany Adair for the final two innings, as she allowed no hits in her two innings pitched. The Lady Lions softball team were led by Sophie Dunavant as she blasted a three-run home run in the second inning to guide the already leading FHU team to a quality 8-1 victory. The second game was a closer contest as the Lady Lions clawed back from a 3-0 deficit in the first inning to achieve a 5-4 victory on an Allie Mitchell RBI double in the 9th inning. Cassie Hayes, Annalise Jarnagin, and Anna Kate Norton all collected three hits in the matchup. The Lady Lions finish the regular season with a 45-3 (28-3) record, leaving them as the Mid-South Conference Regular Season Champions. The Lady Lions maintain their No. 4 NAIA National Ranking. The Lady Lions will begin postseason play April 29th. Earlier in April, the team celebrated seven seniors for their outstanding careers both on and off the field. These seniors were: Morgan Crawford, Cassie Hayes, Allie Mitchell, Kennedy Harris, Sophie Dunavant, Caitlin Mitchell, and Emily Bradford.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the 2021-22 Women's Basketball All-America Teams and Honorable Mentions in late March. All of the selections are made by the All-America Committee and are comprised of first, second, third and honorable mention teams. Freed-Hardeman Lady Lion Alyssa LeMay recently received an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention. LeMay collected 14.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for the Lady Lions. She led the team in both points and rebounds. She ranked 25th with 78 made 3-pointers as well as 23rd in defensive rebounds (210) and ended the year with nine double-doubles. LeMay etched her name in Lady Lion history crossing the 1,000 career points threshold earlier this season. She was also named to the All-MSC First Team. This recognition marks the second straight season that LeMay was named to the All-American Team as she was also named an Honorable Mention at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season. Freed-Hardeman University congratulates Alyssa on this outstanding achievement.

For the second straight season, Freed-Hardeman University senior forward Haylee Croom was named an NAIA First-Team All-American the league announced recently.

Freed-Hardeman Lion Kortland Martin, was named to the NAIA All-American Third Team in late March. Martin scored 18.5 points per game at a 46% clip over his 5-year career. This season, Martin averaged 20.2 points per game, leading the Lions to the NAIA National Tournament. To go along with his illustrious scoring career, Martin has also tallied a total of 459 assists, 157 steals, 423 rebounds, and 334 three-point makes. Martin finished 22nd in the nation in points per game. Martin holds the school's all-time scoring record at 2,321 points. Martin's other accolades include: two-time Honorable Mention All-American, two-time First Team All-AMC, First Team All-MSC, Third Team All-AMC, and AMC Freshman of the Year.