Wednesday, February 20, 2019

HONORS: Anthony Named Player Of The Year, Yellow Jackets Win Big In ODAC Awards

Sophomore point guard Buzz Anthony has been named the 2018-19 Kurt Axe Player Of The Year for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), announced by the conference on Wednesday.

It was not the only major award earned by the Yellow Jackets in advance of the ODAC Championship, which starts quarterfinal play on Thursday. Senior forward Jon Nowell was named the ODAC/Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete Of The Year, while head coach Josh Merkel received the Bob Johnson Coach Of The Year honor.

Anthony, from Arnold, Maryland, was named First Team All-ODAC, while senior Grayson Midulla, a graduate of Glen Allen High School, earned Second Team All-ODAC honors.


Anthony becomes the seventh Randolph-Macon player to win ODAC Player Of The Year, and the first since Justin Short ten years ago. The award is named after Kurt Axe, who won the award as a Yellow Jacket in 1996. Axe tragically died in an automobile accident later that summer.

Nowell becomes the first Randolph-Macon player to earn Scholar-Athlete Of The Year honors, sporting a 3.92 grade point average. Nowell majors in business with a concentration in management.


Merkel wins Coach Of The Year for the second year in a row, leading the Yellow Jackets to a 15-1 conference record, 23-2 overall, and the #1 ranking in the NCAA South Region. Randolph-Macon is the #1 seed in the ODAC Championship, and begins play Thursday at 1pm in Salem against #9 Randolph.

Other Yellow Jacket coaches to win the honor are current Bucknell head coach Nathan Davis (2014, 2015), current VCU head coach Mike Rhoades (2001, 2002, 2003) and Hal Nunnally (1990, 1993, 1997).


Midulla ranks second on the team with 298 points this season, averaging 11.9 points per game, also second in assists (66) and steals (31).



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