Players of the Week From the Midwest
Missouri and Kansas athletes compete throughout the NCAA. Just look at those named their Conference Player of the Week. In just five sports. In just the last week.
As regular readers know, Playing On Sports covers the athletic performances of Missouri and Kansas athletes as they compete in the NCAA. We cover 11 sports, five of which are Fall season sports. They are all good athletes, or they wouldn’t be competing at that level. But, when they get to that level, they find that the other athletes are elite, too. How well do our local athletes compete? You could take my word for it. Or, even their collegiate team’s word for it. But, I can get a more independent opinion for you. Their collegiate conference. Yes, they promote the athletes, but not one over the other. They promote the best they can find in their conference.
We will be looking at those local athletes who have been designated their conference’s Player of the Week. There are a lot of them. And this only covers this one week of the season. There are 18 player of the week awards and one for athlete of the month.
Before we get to that, I want to remind you that there is a podcast version of this newsletter, Like the newsletter, it is free. “Where are They Now Wednesday” is a co-production of Playing On Sports and the Missouri Sports Network. It airs every Wednesday, at 7:00 am on X. The last episode is right here. Follow me on X at playing_sports, and you will get every one of them.
These men and women earned this honor just this week. Listed are the athlete, sport, high school, class, position, Division, College, collegiate conference, followed by the award and part of the reason to be honored. The source of the information is the respective conference.
Kristen Wright - Women’s Soccer - Shawnee Mission West - Sophomore - Goalkeeper - Division II - Univ. of Central Missouri - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
MIAA Women’s Soccer Goalkeeper of the Week
Kristen collected a pair of shutouts in goal for the Jennies against MIAA competition last weekend in Warrensburg. The sophomore keeper didn’t allow a goal while making eight saves in the full 90 minutes of Central Missouri’s 3 to 0 win over Central Oklahoma before just playing 26 minutes in the Jennie’s 7 to 0 victory over Newman. On the week, Wright made eight saves in 116 minutes.
Please note that Shawnee Mission West had graduates win two of the MIAA weekly awards. See Izzy Joyce below.
Emma Harrop - Volleyball - Lafayette-Wildwood - Senior - Middle Blocker - Division III - Fontbonne University - St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
SLIAC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week
Emma recorded 57 digs in three matches, with a high of 22 digs in Fontbonne’s win over Westminister. She averaged 4.38 digs per set on the week.
Josie Boyle - Women’s Soccer - Baldwin - Senior - Defender - Division II - Washburn University - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
MIAA Women’s Soccer Defender of the Week
Josie helped anchor the Ichabod defense to a pair of shutout wins over Northeastern State and Rogers State on the road last weekend. Boyle played 164 minutes over the two matches, helping Washburn hold its opponents to a combined six shots on goal and three corner kicks. The senior defender also scored the opening goal, unassisted, in the first five minutes of Washburn’s 4 to 0 win over the Hillcats.
Izzy Joyce - Women’s Soccer - Shawnee Mission West - Freshman - Forward - Division II - Univ. of Central Missouri - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
MIAA Women’s Soccer Offensive Athlete of the Week
Please note that Shawnee Mission West had graduates win two of the MIAA weekly awards. See Kristen Wright above.
Savannah Meyer - Volleyball - Liberty-Wentzville - Sophomore - Outside Hitter - Division II - Arkansas Tech - Great American Conference
Great American Conference Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Savannah opened her week with 23 kills in the Golden Suns’ four set victory against Northwestern Oklahoma State. She hit .500 against the Rangers. Against first place Southwestern Oklahoma State, she tallied 17 kills and hit .412. For the week, she led the conference in kills per set with 5.71, points per set with 6.00, and attack percentage with .458.
Birdie Hendrickson - Volleyball - Logan-Rogersville - Graduate Student - Outside Hitter - Division I - Pepperdine University - West Coast Conference
West Coast Conference Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Birdie Hendrickson tied her career high with 25 kills, set a career high with 21 digs, both of which were match highs, against Saint Mary’s. Her 25 kills were the most by any WCC player in a match that didn’t go five sets this season. She is responsible for three of the league’s top six single match kill performances. Trailing 24 to 21 in the third set against Saint Mary’s, Birdie rattle off three consecutive kills to extend the set, which the Waves went on to win 29 to 27. Against Portland, Birdie led all players with 16 kills, eight of which came in the first set. This is the second WCC weekly award for Birdie this year.
Thomas Mancuso - Men’s Soccer - Shawnee Mission East - Freshman - Midfielder - Division I - Holy Cross - Patriot League
Patriot League Men’s Soccer Midfielder of the Week
And
Patriot League Men’s Soccer Rookie of the Week
Thomas recorded a goal and an assist in the Crusaders’ 3 to 0 win over Navy. The freshman’s goal in the 81st minute was the first of his career, then he tacked on an assist in the 84th minute to extend their lead.
Steve Hall - Football - MICDS - Freshman - Running Back - FCS - Lindenwood - Ohio Valley Conference
Ohio Valley Conference Football Co-Freshman of the Week
Steve carried the ball 11 times for 78 yards and a touchdown and added a reception of 16 yards in Lindenwood’s game at Gardner-Webb. The redshirt freshman averaged 7.1 yards per carry and found the end zone from 17 yards out in the third quarter.
Xavier Loyd - Football - Blue Springs - Junior - Wide Receiver - FCS - Illinois State University - Missouri Valley Football Conference
Missouri Valley Football Conference Football Newcomer of the Week
Xavier had his best receiving performance as a Redbird in Illinois State’s 40 to 32 win on the road at Murray State. He averaged 29.6 yards per catch and finished the game with five grabs for a career best 148 yards in the win over the Racers.
Logan Kopp - Football - Lindbergh - Junior - Linebacker - FCS - North Dakota State - Missouri Valley Football Conference
Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week
Logan made six tackles and his second interception of the season sealed North Dakota State’s 13 to 9 win over South Dakota State in the annual Dakota Marker game. Kopp got his pick at the NDSU 38 with 1:00 left after the Jackrabbits picked up three first downs. The interception was the first turnover forced by NDSU in the series since 2019, snapping their five game losing streak to the two time defending national champion.
Grant Calvert - Men’s Soccer - Blue Valley - Graduate Student - Goalkeeper - Division I - Belmont University - Missouri Valley Conference
Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Grant faced a season high 17 shots from the Univ. of Illinois-Chicago as Belmont won, 1 to 0. The graduate student helped Belmont earn its first road victory since Oct. 6 of last year and first conference win of the 2024 season. He played all 90 minutes in the net, making four saves. That was Grant’s fourth shutout this season. It also the first time in conference play that UIC was held scoreless.
Lily Rogers - Volleyball - Cor Jesu Academy - Graduate Student - Setter - Division I - University of Delaware - Coastal Athletic Association
Coastal Athletic Association Volleyball - Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Lily orchestrated Delaware’s 2 and 0 weekend with a pair of sweeps of Northeastern. The fifth year setter averaged 11.67 assists per set with 34 on Saturday and 36 on Sunday while helping the Blue Hens hit .325 as a team. Lily also had 13 digs and four blocks.
Carly Glendinning - Volleyball - Timberland - Junior - Outside Hitter - Division I - Univ of Cincinnati - Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference September Volleyball Athlete of the Month
Athletes are so honored not only because they excel at their sport, but also because they demonstrate leadership, perseverance, and strong commitments to academics and community service.
Ava Tankersley - Women’s Soccer - Fort Zumwalt South - Graduate Student - Forward - Division I - Univ. of Arkansas - Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Ava played 88 minutes in Arkansas’ 4 to 3 win at No. 24 Texas. She recorded her third brace of the season and netted the Razorbacks’ first and third goals in the match. The win moved Arkansas up to No. 2 in the RPI rankings and was the team’s third win against a ranked team this season. Ava leads the SEC in goals, goals per game, and points per game.
Gentry Cole - Football - Goddard - Redshirt Senior - Kicker - Division II - Pittsburg State University - Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
MIAA Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Normally, Gentry is a kickoff specialist. But, he was called upon to replace the injured place kicker. He connected on his first two made field goals of his career from 49 and 27 yards out. That pushed the Gorillas to an 18 to 17 win over Fort Hays State. Gentry also kicked off four times, averaging 62.0 yards per kick.
Brooklyn DeLeye - Volleyball - Washburn Rural - Sophomore - Outside Hitter - Division I - Univ. of Kentucky - Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Brooklyn averaged 6.57 points and 6.29 kills per set during a 2 to 0 road trip. She recorded her third double-double of the season with 23 kills and 10 digs in a four set win at Tennessee, hitting .304. Brooklyn followed up with 21 kills, tying her career high for a three set match in Sunday’s sweep at Alabama.
Julia Mincher - Women’s Soccer - Fort Zumwalt East - Senior - Goalkeeper - Division II - Quincy University - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Great Lakes Valley Conference Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Julia made 12 saves in two conference game shutouts. She stopped No. 17 Drury eight times to secure a 0 to 0 tie. Julia is second in the conference in saves.
Caitlin Bishop - Volleyball - Lansing - Junior - Setter - Division II - Univ. of Missouri-St. Louis - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Great Lakes Valley Conference Volleyball Setter of the Week
Caitlin directed an offense that averaged 11.8 kills and hit .210 over ten sets. She totaled 112 assists, or 11.20 per set. Caitlin added 20 digs, five aces, four blocks, and three kills. This is the 13th time Caitlin has won her conference’s Setter of the Week Award.
Kylie Surratt - Volleyball - Pattonville - Freshman - Outside Hitter - Division I - Univ. of Tennessee-Martin - Ohio Valley Conference
Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Freshman of the Week
Kylie got her career best 20 kills on Saturday against Lindenwood. She led her team with a .375 hitting percentage, four blocks and a service ace to go along with seven digs.
These awards for just one week of the entire season. There are only so many honored each week, and our local graduates aren’t shy about grabbing a disproportionate share. This also demonstrates that we aren’t the only ones who know how terrific they are.
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