Newberry's Riggs, Lenoir-Rhyne's Charles Named South Atlantic Conference Basketball Scholar-Athletes of the Year

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Newberry's Mitch Riggs was voted the South Atlantic Conference men's basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while Jazmine Charles from Lenoir-Rhyne earned the women's honor, the League announced today.  The pair earned the honor for their achievements in academics, athletics, service and leadership.

The South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the Conference's championship sports, and is voted on by the SAC's Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee.

Riggs, a junior physical education major, carries a 3.69 GPA and has been named to the Newberry College Dean's List five times in his career.  He has earned South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll in each of his three years at Newberry, while also earning Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Awards all three years at Newberry.  This past season, Riggs earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.

On the court, Riggs has averaged 20-plus minutes per game during his career.  Riggs averaged 11.2 points per game during his freshman campaign and ranked third in the League in three-point field goals per game to earn South Atlantic Conference All-Freshman honors.  After averaging eight points per outing during his sophomore season, Riggs put in 12.9 ppg during this past season to rank in the top 20 in the League.  He dished out 72 assist on the 2014-15 campaign to rank No. 8 in the SAC and finished the year with a 43 percent stroke from downtown.

Riggs has volunteered countless hours in the Newberry community. He was member of the Big Brother Program at Gallman Elementary during his sophomore and junior seasons as he visited the school one to two times per week to help students with special needs and those students struggling with academic classes.  He also served as a volunteer to Lexington County elementary schools during his sophomore year to read to classes.  Riggs helped coach a free youth basketball clinic at Newberry Elementary this past season and refereed Special Olympic basketball games during the winter.  Riggs has also served as a mentor to students at Little Mountain Elementary school educating the students on the dangers of drug use.

He is a member of the Newberry College International Students Organization and volunteers his time at home in Australia at holiday basketball camps for local teams.

Charles has a 3.65 GPA and is an electronic and broadcast media major.  The senior has been named to the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll each year she has been at Lenoir-Rhyne and has been named to the Dean's List four times in her career.  A three-time Lenoir-Rhyne Scholars honoree, Charles was tabbed CoSIDA Academic All-District this past season.

Charles earned South Atlantic Conference All-Freshman honors after posting 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.  She followed with First-Team All-SAC honors during her sophomore season as she finished the year with 11.3 points per outing and led her squad to their first NCAA Tournament bid in three seasons.  During her junior year, Charles was named the SAC and Southeast Region Player of the Year after finishing the year with 17.4 points per contest and 55 triples to earn Third-Team All-America honors.  She put in 17.2 points per outing during her senior year and finished her career at Lenoir-Rhyne ranked No. 1 All-Time with 183 three-pointers and No. 5 in the LR annals with 1,605 points. 

In the community, Charles served as a volunteer at the Humane Society of Catawba County during her sophomore and junior seasons, while volunteering at the Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry and the Hickory Soup Kitchen during her senior year.  On campus, she is a four year member of the Lenoir-Rhyne Fellowship of Christian Athletes and helped out with the LR freshman girls' Bible study during her junior year.  She is a member of the Nu Generation Gospel Choir and is a sister of Chi Alpha Sigma, the national student-athlete honor society.  During her junior and senior years, Charles was honored as a member of the National Communications Association's honor society, Lambda Pi Eta.

Charles has interned with Turner Sports of America and the Charlotte Hornets Public Relations Department.

Other Men's Basketball Nominees
Sawyer Williams, Carson-Newman
Gabriel Mens, Coker
Keith Griffin, Wingate