By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information & OVC Media Relations
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The trend of Tennessee Tech student-athletes succeeding at the highest level of the Ohio Valley Conference continued Wednesday morning as the League announced its six recipients of the 2021-22 OVC Scholar-Athlete Award, including Golden Eagle football junior Seth Carlisle.
The award is given annually to three men and three women student-athletes for their accomplishments in both the classroom and athletic arena, and because of their leadership qualities. This marks the fifth time in the past six years at least one Tech student-athlete was honored.
Carlisle, a linebacker from Red Boiling Springs, Tenn., represents the 36th Golden Eagle student-athlete to take home the honor and the sixth in the past six years. Last year, volleyball's Ali Verzani earned the honor for the purple and gold.
"This a fantastic accomplishment for Seth, Tech Director of Athletics Mark Wilson expressed. "He is a fine young man and holds all the qualities we want our student-athletes to have; dedicated to success in athletics, the classroom, and the community.
"Our student-athletes continue to achieve at the highest level and this is just another example of that. I am so proud that we have been represented with one of these honors so frequently the last six years and Seth's work in the classroom, on the gridiron, and in our community speaks for itself. He earned this honor and we are elated to have him representing our University."
Carlisle is in his fourth season with the Golden Eagle football team and has served as a team captain while representing one of the best defensive players on the squad. During the seven-game spring season, he led the team with 50 tackles, earning the team's Robert Hill Johnson Award as team MVP. The year prior (2019), he ranked second on the Golden Eagle unit with 88 stops.
"Seth Carlisle is the standard for being a student-athlete," Tech head football coach Dewayne Alexander said. "He is a young man of character, a great teammate, serves his community, and is an outstanding student. Seth will continue to represent Tennessee Tech and the OVC in a positive way for many years to come."
In the classroom, he was a 3.61 grade point average in biology health sciences (pre-dentistry) and earned multiple OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll selections. He has also been named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll and Dean's List and been the recipient of the Headrick Pre-Health Sciences Scholarship, the Jerry D. Cantrell Endowment Scholarship, and the Golden Opportunity Scholarship.
Carlisle is a member of the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee Student-Athlete Connection Group, the TTU and OVC Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC), the Chem-Med Club, and the Tennessee Tech Football Leadership Group. He has volunteered at various elementary schools, food pantries, charities, and youth clinics.
The other 2021-22 OVC Scholar-Athlete winners included Riley Baker of Eastern Illinois (track & field), Megan Burton of Eastern Illinois (softball), Conley Chinn at Belmont (women's basketball), Amber Schifano of Morehead State (rifle), and Takeem Young (football).
The six winners were selected from a group of 16 finalists by a vote of OVC Faculty Athletics Representatives. Honorees must have performed athletically with distinction, earned at least a 3.5 grade-point average, and conducted themselves in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, his or her institution, intercollegiate athletics, and the OVC. The award is based on academic and athletic criteria/accomplishments achieved during the 2020-21 school year.
Other nominees for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Gino Avros of Austin Peay (baseball), Isabelle Austin of Tennessee Tech (soccer), Shane Burns of Murray State (baseball), Paige Clark of UT Martin (softball), Evan Davis of Belmont (golf), Omardrick Douglas of Southeast Missouri (football), Abigail Jones of Murray State (soccer), Lexi Osowski of Austin Peay (softball), Gina Rivera-Ortiz of Tennessee State (volleyball) and Josh Trueheart of Tennessee State (football).
Photo by James Boofer, WVLT
