WePlayed Sports Players of the Week - September 8
Football
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference announced its WePlayed Football Players of the Week for games played during week one of the 2025 season. Lenoir-Rhyne's Khamoni Robinson was named the Offensive Player of the Week and Newberry's Mikey Blandin was named the Defensive Player of the Week, while Newberry's Burke Nettles was named the Special Teams Player of the Week.
Robinson, a sophomore from Monroe, N.C., completed 13 of 22 passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-7 win over Tusculum while also rushing for 13 yards. He connected on touchdown passes of 80, 49, 41 and 27 yards and leads the SAC with 295.0 passing yards per game.
Blandin, a senior from Charleston, S.C., Blandin turned in a dominant defensive effort that anchored the Wolves' defense. Blandin racked up 21 total tackles (eight solo, 13 assisted), while adding 2.5 tackles for loss that pushed the Cavaliers back four yards. He also broke up two passes in the victory.
Nettles, a senior from Kingsland, Ga., averaged 48.2 yards on five punts which included a 55-yard punt from the shadow of the Wolves end zone with just over a minute left in the game. His net punt average was 47.4 yards per boot. He also had five touchbacks on six kickoffs and made his only field goal attempt of the game, a 24-yard field goal late in the second quarter to tie the game at 17. He also made all four of his extra point attempts.
2025 SAC Football Players of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week
Sep. 1 – Jordan Jackson, Emory & Henry
Sep. 8 – Khamoni Robinson, Lenoir-Rhyne
Defensive Player of the Week
Sep. 1 – Evan Simons, Catawba
Sep. 8 – Mikey Blandin, Newberry
Special Teams Player of the Week
Sep. 1 – Caleb Bonesteel, Wingate
Sep. 8 – Burke Nettles, Newberry
Volleyball
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference announced its WePlayed Sports Volleyball Players of the Week for matches played during week one of the 2025 season. Wingate's Maya Van Heyst was named the Offensive Player of the Week while her teammate Maddie Hoffman brought home Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Van Heyst, a junior from Tampa, Fla., did it all for #17 Wingate over opening weekend, piling up 136 assists (10.46 assists per set), 43 digs, 22 kills, 7 blocks and 4 aces while posting a .347 hitting percentage. Van Heyst had 27 assists, 11 digs, 5 kills, 2 aces and 2 blocks in the season-opening sweep, while registering 36 assists, 16 digs and 9 kills vs. Lewis, just missing out on her 5th career triple-doubles. She had 44 assists, 7 digs and 5 blocks in the FMU sweep, averaging nearly 15 assists per set in the contest, while closing out her week with 29 assists, 7 kills, 9 digs and an ace in the USCA sweep.
Hoffman, a senior from Fenton, Mo., had a huge opening Wingate for #17 Wingate, piling up 84 digs in the four matches, good for 6.46 digs per set while adding 25 assists and five aces. The honorable mention All-American piled up 22 digs, 7 assists and 2 aces in the season-opening sweep over UNCP, while notching 24 digs vs. Lewis. She followed with 17 digs in the FMU sweep, while notching 21 digs, 8 assists and 2 aces in the sweep over USC Aiken.
2025 SAC Volleyball Players of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week
Sep. 8 – Maya Van Heyst, Wingate
Defensive Player of the Week
Sep. 8 – Maddie Hoffman, Wingate
Men's Soccer
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference announced its WePlayed Sports Men's Soccer Players of the Week for matches played during week one of the 2025 season. Lenior-Rhyne's Guillermo Garcia was named the Offensive Player of the Week while Mars Hill's Josh Moore brought home Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Garcia, a senior from Madrid, Spain, helped the Bears to a season-opening 4-0 victory over Belmont Abbey. Garcia accounted for three of those four goals as he netted a goal and added two assists for a four-point afternoon.
Moore, a freshman from Charlotte, N.C., scored the game-winning goal in a 4-3 victory over Mars Hill on his lone shot attempt in his second career match. In his debut, Moore was part of a back line that shut out King in a 0-0 draw.
2025 SAC Men's Soccer Players of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week
Sep. 9 – Guillermo Garcia, Lenoir-Rhyne
Defensive Player of the Week
Sep. 9 – Josh Moore, Mars Hill
Women's Soccer
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference announced its WePlayed Sports Women's Soccer Players of the Week for matches played during week one of the 2025 season. Catawba's Bree Ehmer was named the Offensive Player of the Week while Newberry's Madison Gutierrez brought home Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Ehmer, a junior from Melbourne, Fla., netted a SAC-leading three goals along with an assist in 23rd-ranked Catawba's 2-0 weekend to begin the regular season. Ehmer's seven points led the conference through the opening weekend of the season, notching a goal and an assist in the 3-0 win over 2024 NCAA Tournament participant Frostburg State before adding a brace in the 4-0 win at Chowan on Sunday
Gutierrez, a junior from Buckeye, Ariz., recorded back-to-back shutouts in her first two starts. She posted four saves in the 0-0 draw with Converse before adding four more in the 2-0 victory over Emmanuel, finishing the week with a perfect 1.000 save percentage and eight total stops. Playing all 180 minutes without conceding a goal, Gutierrez anchored a Wolves defense that has yet to be scored upon.
2025 SAC Women's Soccer Players of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week
Sep. 9 – Bree Ehmer, Catawba
Defensive Player of the Week
Sep. 9 – Madison Gutierrez, Newberry
Cross Country
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference announced its WePlayed Sports Cross Country Runners of the Week for meets competed in during the first week of the 2025 season. Catawba's Hannah Caudill was named the Women's Runner of the Week, while Newberry's Tyler Shumate was named the Men's Runner of the Week.
Caudill, a junior from Asheville, N.C., repeated as the Catawba Fleet Feet Invitational individual champion, finishing with a time of 18:30.73. She led the Catawba Indians to the team title in their season-opening meet.
Shumate, a junior from Biddeford, Maine, placed first at the Bob Jones Night Classic in the men's 6K, crossing the line in 19:31.78 against a field of more than 100 runners.
2025 SAC Cross Country Runners of the Week
Women
Sept. 9 – Hannah Caudill, Catawba
Men
Sept. 9 – Tyler Shumate, Newberry
Field Hockey
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference announced its WePlayed Sports Field Hockey Players of the Week for games played during the first week of the 2025 season. Converse's Amparo Figueroa was named the Offensive Player of the Week, while Wingate's Svenja Brandt was named the Defensive Player of the Week.
Figueroa, a sophomore from Santa Rosa, Argentina, exploded offensively with six goals in two games over the weekend. She scored four times against Barton, tying the Valkyries' school record for goals in a single game, and added two more goals against Coker to set the offensive pace for Converse.
Brandt, a freshman goalkeeper, had an impressive collegiate debut, registering four saves in a complete-game shutout as the Bulldogs rolled to a 6-0 win over Coker. Her steady presence in the cage helped Wingate open the year with a dominant defensive performance.
2025 SAC Field Hockey Players of the Week
Offensive
Sept. 9 – Amparo Figueroa, Converse
Defensive
Sept. 9 – Svenja Brandt, Wingate