BMCU softball earns SSAC Mayor Todd Strange female champions of character award
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Blue Mountain Christian University softball earned the Southern States Athletic Conference Mayor Todd Strange Female Champions of Character Team Award Monday evening, the conference announced at its annual awards banquet.
The award recognizes the program that best exemplifies the NAIA Champions of Character core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership, the school said. Head Coach Matt Brunet and assistant coach MJ George were credited with building a culture that prioritized service and conduct off the field as well as success on it.
As an example, the school said Brunet and George assisted members of St. Mary-of-the-Woods following a doubleheader by transporting opposing student-athletes to local restaurants and back to their hotel. The act, the school said, reflected the servant-hearted leadership that has become a defining characteristic of the program.
The award capped a season in which the Toppers earned the program’s first berth to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round and set multiple program records. Brunet and George were named NFCA NAIA Region 1 Coaching Staff of the Year, and center fielder Anna Harrison and first baseman Aspen Teague earned NFCA Region 1 selections, the school said.
Harrison set new single-season program records in runs scored and stolen bases, and pitcher Neely Cooper threw a no-hitter during the season, the release said. “This honor means a great deal to our program because it recognizes something bigger than wins and losses,” Brunet said. Curt Fowler, Blue Mountain Christian’s director of athletics, praised the team for representing the university’s mission. “Their willingness to serve others, put people first, and represent Christ in the way they compete and lead is what truly sets this program apart,” Fowler said.
