Spring 2025 Athletics
The summer months are upon us, but before we close the book on the 2024-25 Centenary Athletics’ year, let’s take a look back at the spring season one last time…enjoy!
Baseball
The Diamond Gents had an uncharacteristic season as they finished 16-24 overall and 12-18 in SCAC play, marking just the second losing season in the division III era (2012-present) and also missed the conference tournament for the first time.
Centenary, picked to finish third in the league in the preseason coaches' poll, suffered multiple impactful injuries and its young roster was tested by a difficult schedule. The Diamond Gents hit .260 as a team with 14 home runs and averaged 5.75 runs per game and finished with a 5.97 team ERA and had three complete games.
Three players were named to the 2025 All-SCAC Team as senior LHP Tyler Herrera (Spring, Texas), sophomore 1B Alex Miller (Cypress, Texas), and freshman OF Blaine Birkelbach (Pearland, Texas) each earned Honorable-Mention recognition.
Herrera went 5-4 with a 4.26 ERA this season in 13 games (12 starts) with 58 strikeouts in 69.2 innings pitched and a pair of complete games. He ranked in the top five in the conference during the regular season in ERA, strikeouts, and innings pitched. Herrera, a three-time All-SCAC selection, finishes his impressive career with 19 wins, seven complete games, three shutouts, and 233 K's. Herrera was named both the SCAC Freshman of the Year and SCAC Pitcher of the Year in 2022.
Miller, the 2024 SCAC Freshman of the Year, followed up his sensational rookie season with an impressive sophomore campaign as he hit .305 (.374 OBP/.474 slugging) with four home runs, 29 RBI, 24 runs scored, 12 doubles, a triple, and eight stolen bases. Miller recorded 18 multi-hit games including a pair of three-hit performances.
Birkelbach was one of the SCAC's top freshmen as he hit a team-high .316 with a .435 OBP and slugged .482. He played in 38 games (36 starts), and had 36 hits, 25 runs scored, 18 RBI, five doubles, four triples, two homers, and eight stolen bases.
Junior LF Lenny Forth (Flower Mound, Texas) made his mark late in the season as he was named to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week on April 23 after his impressive performance at home against the University of Dallas.
The Team of the Week is D3baseball.com's weekly honor roll, in its fourteenth season of recognizing the top performers at each of nine positions from the previous week. Players are selected from nominations from their school's sports information directors.
Forth, who earned a spot on the prestigious team for the first time in his career, was named the SCAC Baseball Hitter of the Week on Monday after he was red-hot over the weekend against the Crusaders, finishing a sizzling 8-for-11 (.727) with a .750 OBP and slugged a whopping 1.273 with eight RBI, a home run, three doubles, and seven runs scored.
Forth also stole two bases and did not strike out in his 11 at-bats all weekend. Forth was 4-for-4 with a career-high five RBI, four runs scored, and a pair of doubles in a 14-1 win in game two of a DH on Friday and finished 4-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, a home run, and a double in Saturday's series finale.
Six seniors finished their careers this season - SS Jobee Boone (Opelousas, La.), Tyler Herrera, P Zachary Malone (Hallsville, Texas), C/IF McKenly McLaughlin (Georgetown, Texas), OF/IF Bryant Sevadjian (Carrollton, Texas), and OF Chase Stanley (Houston, Texas).
Men’s Golf
Senior Andrew Bennett (Bossier City, La.) put the finishing touches on his stellar career with a 20th-place finish in the SCAC Championships in Whitney, Texas in April as he paced the Gents all season. Bennett was named to the NCAA Division III PING All-Region Team last month as he earned a spot on the Region VII Team and earned All-Region honors for the second season in a row. On June 11, he was named the SCAC Co-Men’s Golfer of the Year after being named SCAC Men’s Golfer of the Year last season.
Bennett, who also earned Honorable-Mention All-SCAC honors this season, continued to add to his legacy as the top golfer in the division III era of the program this season with a pair of individual wins, a tie for first, and a runner-up finish. Bennett was named the SCAC Men's Golfer of the Week three times this past season and finishes his superb career with four-career outright wins, 11 top-five finishes, and 14 top-10 finishes.
The Gents shot a 114-over par 978 to finish ninth at the SCAC Championships on the New Course at White Bluff Golf Resort in Whitney, Texas in April. Sophomore Aubrey Snell (Shreveport, La.) was the Gents’ top finisher as he shot a 20-over par 236 to earn a tie for 17th place. Junior Jeffrey Borchert (Katy, Texas) tied for 32nd place, freshman Ryder Briggs (Blanchard, La.) finished 42nd, and junior Colton Mayer (Heath, Texas) 43rd.
The Gents earned a fourth-place finish in their annual home tournament, the Hal Sutton Invitational, in March as they shot a 37-over par 613 at The Golf Club at Stonebridge in Bossier City.
Snell recorded the Gents' second-best finish in the Hal Sutton as he shot a 9-over par 153 to tie for 14th place, Borchert tied for 24th place at 14-over 158, Briggs shot a 15-over 159 to tie for 26th, and senior Tyler Jones (Stonewall, La.) finished 47 at 54-over 198.
Bennett and Snell each tied for 25th place in the West Region Invitational on April 1 to lead the way for the Gents, shooting 13-over par 229. Snell shot rounds of 78-76-75 while Bennett carded rounds of 81-73-75. Briggs and Borchert each earned top-35 finishes.
Gymnastics
The Centenary gymnastics program capped one of its most memorable seasons in history on April 13 after serving as host for the 2025 Women's Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitational Championships at the Gold Dome.
The prestigious event, formerly named the USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championships, featured the host Ladies along with the University of Alaska, the University of Bridgeport, Greenville University, Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO), Southern Connecticut State University, Texas Woman's University, and West Chester University and eight individuals also competed.
Senior Emma Lavelle (Mandeville, La.) finished her superb career in grand fashion on the final day of competition as she scored a career-high 9.80 on floor in the individual finals after she earned a previous career-best 9.775 in the opening session. Lavelle earned First-Team All-American status based on her appearance in the individual finals.
Lavelle, who was competing at nationals for the third time in her career, was named a finalist for the prestigious AAI Award sponsored by American Athletic Inc. (AAI) earlier in the season as she was the only division III gymnast of the 59 nominees in the country.
Centenary head coach Meg Crowley was named the WCGNIC Coach of the Year, it was announced at the official team welcome banquet prior to the championships and senior Sophie Schmitz (Trophy Club, Texas) received the "Outstanding Senior Athlete Award" during the post-meet awards ceremony at nationals. The prestigious award goes to the highest scoring all around senior athlete based off the results of the opening session in which Schmitz finished fifth in the AA with a score of 37.850. Her best score of the meet was a 9.70 on bars followed by a 9.525 on vault. She competed at nationals for the second season in a row.
Fourteen Centenary gymnasts were named WCGNIC 2025 Scholar-Athletes as they held either a cumulative 3.3 GPA or Fall semester GPA of 3.3. Five Ladies had 4.0 GPAs in the fall semester - sophomore Hayden Cagle (Austin, Texas), freshman Molly English (Newnan, Ga.), freshman Chloe Gilbert (Pflugerville, Texas), Lavelle, and junior Olivia Stratmann (Houston, Texas).
The following is the complete list of the scholar-athletes: Freshman Peyton Burford (West Monroe, La.), Hayden Cagle, freshman Skyla Cruz (El Paso, Texas), Molly English, junior Claire Flores (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Chloe Gilbert, freshman Anna Ichiba (Murphy, Texas), Emma Lavelle, freshman Olivia Montgomery (Willard, Mo.), sophomore Brooke Murdock (Garland, Texas), Sophie Schmitz, Olivia Stratmann, senior Mylia Vidtor (The Colony, Texas), and sophomore Olivia Williams (Cape Coral, Fla.)
Lavelle and Schmitz were each named 2025 WCGNIC All-Americans by the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA). These prestigious honors recognize outstanding performances throughout the competition in the 2025 Women's Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitational Championships and highlight the dedication, skill, and hard work of gymnasts from across the country. Lavelle earned First-team honors on floor while Schmitz earned in the All-Around.
Centenary also hosted the annual Midwest Independent Conference Championships on March 21 as the Ladies earned a team score of 189.200 to finish fourth. Centenary finished with a 48.100 on bars, a 47.350 on vault, and an identical 46.875 on both beam and floor. Schmitz finished third in the All-Around with a score of 37.900 and the Ladies' two best individual scores of the meet were 9.70 by Lavelle on beam and Stratmann on bars. Schmitz was named First-Team All-MIC Conference after her third-place finish in the AA
The Ladies' highest team score this season was a 192.175 against Fisk University on March 8 at home and Centenary's Senior Night. Centenary topped 190.00 for the first this season and its team score is the Ladies' highest since recording a 190.325 last season against TWU and the Maroon and White scored 192.00 or better for the first time since recording a 192.475 on March 11, 2023 at home versus Lindenwood University.
The Ladies earned season-best scores on vault (47.875) and bars (48.150) against Fisk, tied their season-high on floor (48.100), and recorded their second-best score on beam (48.050).
Lacrosse
The Gents capped their 2025 season with a flourish with a 27-9 victory over Northland College LumberJacks on Senior Day at Atkins Field.
The Gents exploded for a program record number of goals against Northland on April 19 and scored 20+ goals for the third time during the season. Centenary finished its season at 5-6 and flexed its offensive muscles all season long as the Maroon and White scored 161 goals, averaging 14.6 goals per game, and added 90 assists for 251 total points.
Freshman A Gamble Harvill (Bossier City, La.) scored a team-leading 38 goals to set a new single-season program record and scored eight in the win over Northland. Senior A G'Colby Spivey (Dallas, Texas) was second on the team in goals (29), senior M Jordan Cook (Bryant, Ark.) and Sophomore M Ethan Hewett (Bossier City, La.) were tied for third place with 28 each, and sophomore A Gibson Harvill (Bossier, City, La.) was fifth with 26.
Gibson Harvill matched his younger brother with eight goals of his own on in the regular-season finale, Cook and Spivey each scored four, Hewett had two, and freshman MF Travis Davis (Shreveport, La.) scored one. Senior GK Dylan Miller (Shreveport, La.) made five saves against Northland and recorded 166 for the season.
Centenary honored its 2025 season class - D Kaleb Coates (Shreveport, La.) Jordan Cook, Dylan Miller, and G'Colby Spivey in a pregame ceremony before the regular-season finale. Fifth-year head coach Billy LeClair was chosen as Centenary Athletics’ Head Coach of the Year at the annual end of season banquet in April.
Stunt
The Ladies finished eighth in the country in the division III rankings out of 13 teams as they recorded an extremely successful inaugural season. As the first and only NCAA Varsity STUNT team in the state of Louisiana this past season and the only DIII team in the south, Centenary was forced to play cross divisional the entire season.
Three Ladies were named All-Americans by the College STUNT Coaches Association (CSCA) as senior Avery Cauley (Little Rock, Ark.), sophomore Ezmeriah Gonzalez (Longview, Texas), and sophomore J'Anna Sweat (Pitkin, La.) all earned the prestigious honor. Cauley was named to the First Team, Sweat to the Second Team, and Gonzales earned Honorable-Mention honors.
The number of athletes from each team receiving All-American honors was based on the end of the season ranking for each team. The Ladies' eighth-place final ranking allotted them one honoree for each category. All-Americans are selected by the members of the College STUNT Coach Association.
Our schedule was no easy feat for a first-year program or a DIII program at that," said Centenary head coach Kaylee King. "We played the most games of any DIII college, and we were the only ones to never see another DIII all season long. That's hard on a small roster team like us. But these ladies pushed through with great tenacity."
In total, the team went 163 rounds of play averaging 10 rounds of play per game with four athletes earning all 163 rounds.
"The things this team accomplished this season was most definitely more than I could have ever imagined for our first season,” said Centenary head coach Kaylee King. It goes far beyond the scoreboard, and I give them major credit for doing things that others couldn't and wouldn't do. They stuck around and chose to leave that mark and build that legacy for the future STUNT teams at Centenary. They poured countless hours, blood, sweat, and tears into this new sport all while going to class and being on the cheer team. That's not easy for anyone and to still have so much success makes me very proud of them."
Women’s Golf
The Ladies were led all season long by freshman Haylee Crowder (Haughton, La.) as she capped her impressive rookie season with a tie for 25th place at the SCAC Championships in April. Crowder recorded four top-15 finishes and five top 20's.
The Ladies finished seventh at the SCAC Championships as the Ladies shot a three-day total of 307-over par 1171 on the New Course at White Bluff Golf Resort in Whitney, Texas.
Crowder was joined in the Ladies’ normal lineup all season by sophomore Mya Thompson (South Jordan, Utah), freshman Amber Shaw (Hughes Springs, Texas), and sophomore Jordyn Templeton (Columbus, Texas).
The Ladies finished third in their annual home tournament, the Hal Sutton Invitational, in March as they shot a 178-over par 754 at The Golf Club at Stonebridge in Bossier City.
Men’s Track & Field
The Gents finished 12th in the 2025 SCAC Championships in April in Seguin, Texas. Sophomore Christian Cormier (Lafayette, La.) had a superb sophomore campaign for the Gents as he was one of the top competitors in the conference all season. He was named the SCAC Men's Track Athlete of the Week (April 22) and Co-Track Athlete of the Week on March 18.
Cormier ran a season-best time of 10.69 in the 100 meters in the SCAC Championships, which was tied for the 11th-fastest time ran all season in the event in the conference. Cormier also ran a top-20 time (18th) in the 200 meters (22.0) on March 22 in the Belhaven Invitational.
Freshman Jay Scott (Slidell, La.) finished ninth in the triple jump with a season-best mark of 12.25m at the conference championships and he also finished 25th in the 100-meter dash (11.06). Freshman Phillip Hughes (Bossier City, La.) ran a time of 52.60 to finish 25th in the 400-meter dash, sophomore Bryan Washington (Wylie, Texas) was right behind him in 26th place (52.68), and freshman Clayton Hancock (Buna, Texas) finished 30th in a time of 52.89.
Scott led the way for the Gents in the long jump as he finished 19th (6.01m) and sophomore Herman Pride (Baton Rouge, La.) was 26th (5.77m).
Women’s Track & Field
Freshman Gabrielle Malagarie (Lafayette, La.) highlighted the SCAC Championships for the Ladies and capped her impressive rookie season as she recorded a runner-up finish in the high jump with a mark of 1.52m to earn All-SCAC honors in the event in Seguin, Texas. The rookie earned the Ladies' best finish in program history in the conference championships as she ended her impressive debut season on a high note. Malagarie's runner-up helped the Ladies finish eighth for the weekend with eight total points.
In the women's long jump, sophomore Mackenzie Haley (Orange, Texas) matched her season best (4.62m) and was 17th at the conference meet, freshman Grayson Shugart (McKinney, Texas) placed 22nd with a season-best 4.50m and Malagarie had a season-high 4.38m and finished 24th. Shugart earned an eighth-place finish in the triple jump (10.24m).
Softball
The Ladies, led by head coach Whitney Patterson, finished the season at 21-22 overall and 14-15 in SCAC play, went 2-2 in the SCAC Tournament falling one game shy of advancing to the championship round to record one of their best seasons in the division III era (2013-present) of the program.
Centenary’s 21 wins are the most in a single season in the D3 era and the 14 conference wins this past season are also the most in a single season in the D3 era.
Centenary, the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament, rebounded from a 6-2 loss to the No. 3 seed Trinity University Tigers in their tournament opener to notch consecutive elimination-round victories over the No. 5 seed McMurry University War Hawks and a 5-3 win over Trinity before being eliminated by the nationally-ranked and No. 1 seed Texas Lutheran Bulldogs. The Ladies have now made nine-consecutive SCAC Tournament appearances.
Three Ladies were named to the All-Tournament Team following the conclusion of the championship - sophomore CF Noelle Sandmann (Huntsville, Texas), senior P/UT Emma Shepherd (Athens, La.), and senior C Abby Touchet (Shreveport, La.) earned spots on the team following their impressive individual performances over the weekend for the Ladies.
Six Ladies earned All-SCAC honors this season as each earned Honorable-Mention honors - freshman SS Kaitlynn Alello (Denham Springs, La.), senior 3B Viviana Rivero (Redondo Beach, Calif.), senior P Anna Scarbrock (Alexandria, La.), Emma Shepherd, junior 2B Catherine Stokes (Natchitoches, La.), and Abby Touchet.
Four Ladies Named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District® Softball Team after the season – junior P/UT Abigail Hodgson (Florence, Texas), Viviana Rivero, Emma Shepherd, and junior LF Laine Sullivan (Prairieville, La.).
Shepherd was one of the conference's top pitchers as she ranked in the top 10 in appearances, wins, opponent batting average, IP, K’s, and ERA. She made history on March 22 at home against Southwestern as she struck out 14 batters, which is the most by a Centenary pitcher in a single game in the D3 era (2012-present) of the program. Shepherd's 14 K's were tied for the most by a SCAC pitcher in a game this season. She worked 18 innings in the conference tournament and picked up a win and a save in four appearances.
Touchet was one of the conference's top offensive players all season in her first with the Ladies after transferring from TLU as she ranked in the top 10 in the league in OBP, slugging, hits, RBI, doubles, home runs, total bases, BB, AB, and plate appearances. She tallied 17 multi-hit performances including one 3-hit game and eight games with multiple RBI with one game of three RBI and had a season-high 4 at Ozarks on March 1. Three of her five home runs came in conference games and 22 of 28 RBI were in league play.
Rivero had a fantastic comeback season after being limited to just eight games in 2024 due to injury. She was one of the conference's top offensive players as she hit .338 (.362 OBP/.462 slugging) in 39 games and 39 starts with three HR, seven doubles, 25 RBI, 44 hits, and 18 runs scored. She ranked third in the conference in sacrifice flies (4) and tied for eighth in the league in HR and was ranked in the top 10 for the majority of the regular season in hits, RBI, and home runs. She had 13 multi-hit performances including one 3-hit game and one 4-hit performance and only struck out 12 times in 130 AB with seven BB. Rivero finished her career as one of the top offensive players in the D3 era, ranking in the top five in six categories and the top 10 in a dozen.
Scarbrock was once again one of the conference's top pitchers as she ranked in the top 10 in the conference in IP (87.2) and made 21 appearances (second on team) and a team-high 15 starts. She posted an 8-6 record with a 3.43 ERA and tossed seven complete games and a team-best three shutouts. She walked only 10 batters while striking out 24. Scarbrock pitched 6+ innings seven times during the season with a season-high nine in her first start of the season against Millsaps on Feb. 8. Scarbrock finishes her illustrious career with the Ladies as one of the top pitchers in the D3 era, ranking first in shutouts and in the top five in four other categories.
Stokes had another solid season for the Ladies as she started all 43 games and hit .286 (.340 OBP/.329 slugging) with 40 hits (third on team), 22 runs scored (second on team), six doubles (tied for third on team), 12 RBI, 11 BB, four stolen bases, and only 7 K in a team-high 140 at-bats. She posted nine multi-hit games and finished with a .976 fielding %.
Allelo shined in her first season with the Ladies as she was one of their top all-around players. She hit .318 (.504 OBP/.388 slugging) with 27 hits, 19 runs scored, 12 RBI, four stolen bases, and 12 BB. She led the conference and country in HBP with 20, ranked in the top 10 in the conference in sacrifice bunts (7) and had eight multi-hit games.
Sullivan had a productive first season with the Ladies as she posted 26 hits, 18 runs scored, 20 RBI (third on team), four extra-base hits, six multi-hit performances, and had a career-high four RBI in a 7-5 win with two hits against Schreiner on April 25. She walked 11 times and was 5-5 in stolen-base attempts in her 42 games (all starts).
Hodgson started 39 games and was the Ladies’ primary first baseman and had an impressive season as she hit an even .300 (.336 OBP/.327 slugging) with 33 hits, 16 RBI, and three doubles. She also had a .992 fielding % with only two errors committed in 247 chances.
Sandmann turned in a solid rookie season as she was the Ladies’ everyday starting CF and scored a team-best 29 runs and added 31 hits with seven RBI. She was 8-9 in stolen base attempts and had five sacrifice hits. She was also had 15 walks and was hit by a pitch twice. She had seven multi-hit games during the season and three came in the final five games of the season. In the SCAC Tournament, she went 5-15 with a pair of multi-hit performances which included a season-high three hits on May 3 in the 6-1 win over McMurry.
Junior UT Emma Crow (Krotz Springs, La.) was the Ladies’ starting RF and had 18 hits, 14 runs scored, 10 RBI, and made only one error all season to finish with a .981 fielding %. She also made four appearances in the circle and finished 1-0 in seven IP.
Sophomore OF Taylor Good (Flower Mound, Texas) was a key contributor for the Ladies late in the season as she started several games at designated player and in the outfield and finished .273 with 15 hits, four runs scored, 10 RBI, a double, and a home run. She had an impressive SCAC Tournament as she was 5-12 with two RBI. Good provided one of the Ladies’ most exciting moments of the season as she belted a two-out, game-tying, pinch-hit home run on April 11 at home against McMurry in the bottom of the seventh inning that sent the game to extra innings. The homer was Good’s first of her career.
Eleven Ladies and Gents earned all-conference recognition and five were named All-Americans in the spring semester. More team and individual postseason honors are likely to roll in this summer so stay tuned to GoCentenary.com and Centenary Athletics’ social media channels!