St. Edward's athletics 2023-24 season concludes this weekend with the Lone Star Conference Championships Meet and commencement. As the academic year comes to a close, we recap the season.
During the April 30 Celebration of Champions awards ceremony, St. Edward's athletics named women's basketball's
BAILEY FEATHERSTONE and baseball's
LANCE LITTLE its 2023-24 Performance Athletes of the Year.
The Performance Athlete of the Year award recognizes the male and female student-athletes who display the most extraordinary dedication to training, go above and beyond in the weight room and practice, and set the standard for teammates to follow.
Coaches nominated candidates, and a committee of administrators, sports information staff, and coaches voted on the winner.
Featherstone is a freshman on the women's basketball team. She is an ambitious student-athlete whose work ethic exceeds expectations at practice or during games. She leads with her work ethic in the weight room and makes continuous gains.
If you are looking for Bailey, look no further than the gym, where she will be putting up extra shots before practice, doing extra cardio work, attending treatments with the athletic trainers, or performing extra workouts.
"Bailey came to practice every day to work. She came to at least four extra individual workouts each week, most starting at 5:30 a.m., putting up over 300 extra shots before practice, and worked on her ball handling skills," St. Edward's Assistant Women's Basketball Coach Khiani Clark recalls. "In the preseason, she ran so much that we had to tell her to cut back. But, there was no stopping Bailey's desire and drive to improve, so the compromise was rowing or walking. Throughout the season, win or lose, Bailey showed up."
Little is a Georgetown native in his second year on the baseball team. The first baseman was the LSC 2023 Newcomer of the Year and is the epitome of what it means to be a student-athlete.
"Lance is a true professional in his approach to being an elite student-athlete and teammate. He sets the standard high in what it means to bring it daily in all aspects of his life," St. Edward's Head Baseball Coach Ryan Femath says. "He is mature, confident, and leads through action. His dedication to improving daily is admirable, and he deserves recognition as Performance Athlete of the Year."
In the third week of this season, Lance suffered a broken bone in his hand, requiring surgery and sidelining him for the next six weeks.
His commitment and work ethic to returning to the field were relentless throughout rehab, enabling him to return to the lineup. Unable to swing a bat, Lance showed up every day ready to work in the weight room, rehab, and assist his team with in-game adjustments.
