WePlayed Sports Players of the Week - September 15

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference announced its WePlayed Football Players of the Week for games played during week two of the 2025 season. Catawba's Preston Brown was named the Offensive Player of the Week and Mars Hill's Sakarri Morrison was named the Defensive Player of the Week, while Anderson's Elijah Swett was named the Special Teams Player of the Week.

Brown, a graduate student from Charlotte, N.C., connected on 25 of his 29 pass attempts in a 44-34 win over UVA Wise, good for an 86.2 percent completion rate. He threw for 372 yards, which matched a career high, and tossed three touchdown passes. On the ground, Brown ran eight times for 35 yards and added two touchdown runs. In total, he accounted for five touchdowns and over 400 yards of offense.  

Morrison, a senior from Charlotte, N.C., came up with a crucial overtime sack on third down in a 31-24 win over nationally ranked Carson-Newman that propelled the Lions past the Eagles. For the game, he had 12 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and the sack.

Swett, a senior from Matthews, N.C., was a perfect 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts and converted all three of his extra points to account for 12 points in the Trojans 30-0 win over Tusculum. Swett's long on the day was 43 yards and he also connected from 27 and 30 yards out.

2025 SAC Football Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week

Sep. 1 – Jordan Jackson, Emory & Henry
Sep. 8 – Khamoni Robinson, Lenoir-Rhyne
Sep. 15 – Preston Brown, Catawba

Defensive Player of the Week

Sep. 1 – Evan Simons, Catawba
Sep. 8 – Mikey Blandin, Newberry
Sep. 15 – Sakarri Morrison, Mars Hill

Special Teams Player of the Week

Sep. 1 – Caleb Bonesteel, Wingate
Sep. 8 – Burke Nettles, Newberry
Sep. 15 – Elijah Swett, Anderson

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 two of the 2025 season. Carson-Newman'sEmerson Ahsmuhs was named the Offensive Player of the Week while Wingate's Maddie Hoffman brought home Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Ahsmuhs, a sophomore from Placentia, Calif., led the Eagles attack in every game of a 5-0 week. Her game against Francis Marion matched a career high in kills and landed her 5th in the Carson-Newman record books for most kills in a four-set match with 22. She is 13th nationally in kills per set, and her double-double against North Greenville marked her team-leading 6th of the season. For the week, she recorded 89 kills, 4.94 kills per set and hit .293. She had 15 or more kills in all five matches.

Hoffman, a senior from Fenton, Mo., led the #19 Bulldogs to a 4-0 weekend at the UNCP Invitational. Hoffman picked up 57 digs in her 11 sets played, adding 16 assists and 6 aces, while averaging 5.18 digs per set. She had 16 digs, 8 assists and an ace in the sweep over an Eckerd team that defeated Wingate in 2023. Hoffman needed just 2 sets to notch 14 digs and 4 aces against Virginia State while registering 16 digs, 2 assists and 2 more aces in the sweep at UNCP. This is the second straight week Hoffman has won Defensive POTW honors.

2025 SAC Volleyball Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week

Sep. 8 – Maya Van Heyst, Wingate
Sept. 15 – Emerson Ahsmuhs, Carson-Newman

Defensive Player of the Week

Sep. 8 – Maddie Hoffman, Wingate
Sep. 15 – 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 two of the 2025 season. Catawba's Mate Kenyeres was named the Offensive Player of the Week while Anderson's Franco Antoniolli brought home Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Kenyeres, a senior from Budapest, Hungary, scored three goals in a 2-0 week for the Catawba Indians. His brace on Wednesday against Mount Olive marked his second in a row and, by scoring in the sixth minute at Carson-Newman on Saturday, Kenyeres has found paydirt in three straight matches. The forward attained his brace in just 33 minutes and totaled six shots for a .500 shooting percentage.

Antoniolli, a senior from Cardoba, Argentina, made six saves in goal for the No. 4 Trojans as they went 1-0-1 on the week. He made three saves in a clean sheet against Montevallo and added three more in a 1-0 win over Emory & Henry on Sunday.

2025 SAC Men's Soccer Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week

Sep. 9 – Guillermo Garcia, Lenoir-Rhyne
Sep. 16 – Mate Kenyeres, Catawba

Defensive Player of the Week

Sep. 9 – Josh Moore, Mars Hill
Sep. 16 – Franco Antoniolli, Anderson

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 two of the 2025 season. Carson-Newman's Molly Bukiewicz was named the Offensive Player of the Week while teammate Berna Kabakci brought home Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Bukiewicz, a graduate student from Beavercreek, Ohio, netted her first career brace against King and she added an assist for a career-high five points. She became the first Carson-Newman player with goals in three straight games since 2018 when she scored on Saturday against Trevecca Nazarene. Currently, she leads the SAC in points (10) and is tied for the most goals (4). The Eagles went 2-0 on the week and won by a combined score of 7-0.

Kabakci, a junior from Zeddam, Netherlands, recorded back-to-back clean sheets for the Eagles while recording nine saves in the two shutouts. That total represents the most saves that a SAC goalkeeper has made that have resulted in consecutive shutout efforts.

2025 SAC Women's Soccer Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week

Sep. 9 – Bree Ehmer, Catawba
Sep. 16 – Molly Bukiewicz, Carson-Newman

Defensive Player of the Week

Sep. 9 – Madison Gutierrez, Newberry
Sep. 16 – Berna Kabakci, Carson-Newman

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 week of Sept. 8–14. Lenoir-Rhyne's Ziola Sicilia was named the Women's Runner of the Week, while Tusculum's Nathan Buckeridge was named the Men's Runner of the Week.

Sicilia, a junior from Valladolid, Spain, posted a personal best of 18:12 to finish 32nd out of 228 at the Queen City Invite. She was the first Division II finisher across the line and helped the Bears to a sixth-place team finish in a 20-team field.

Buckeridge, a junior from Haywards Heath, England, captured the individual title at the Roane State Invitational with an 8K time of 26:12, winning by 91 seconds. His performance paced the Pioneers to the team title and marked Tusculum's first men's individual win since 2023.

Women

• Sept. 9 – Hannah Caudill, Catawba
  Sept. 15 – Ziola Sicilia, Lenoir-Rhyne

Men

• Sept. 9 – Tyler Shumate, Newberry
  Sept. 15 – Nathan Buckeridge, Tusculum

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 week of Sept. 8–14. Newberry's Parker Keeler was named the Offensive Player of the Week, while teammate Payton Keeler was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Week.

Parker Keeler, a junior forward from Bridgeville, Del., powered the Wolves' attack with four goals and two assists for 10 points across two games. She recorded a hat trick in Newberry's 5-0 win over Belmont Abbey, then added a goal and two assists in an 8-0 victory against Coker.

Payton Keeler, a junior defender from Bridgeville, Del., anchored a Wolves' back line that has yet to concede a goal this season. She helped limit Coker to just two total shots in Sunday's shutout, while also contributing offensively with three goals and two assists across the week. Her presence and consistency were pivotal in Newberry's pair of clean-sheet victories.

2025 SAC Field Hockey Players of the Week

Offensive

• Sept. 9 – Amparo Figueroa, Converse

• Sept. 15 – Parker Keeler, Newberry

Defensive

• Sept. 9 – Svenja Brandt, Wingate

• Sept. 15 – Payton Keeler, Newberry

Golf

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference announced its Golfers of the Week for tournaments played during the week of September 1–16. Wingate's Amely Bochaton was named the Women's Golfer of the Week, while Lincoln Memorial's Morgan Cain was named the Men's Golfer of the Week.

Women's Golfer of the Week
Amely Bochaton, Wingate
(So., Evian Les Bains, France)
Wingate sophomore Amely Bochaton captured her seventh career individual title with a one-stroke victory at the NCAA Division II South Regional Preview. She carded rounds of 72, 72, and 71 for a 215 (-1) total to finish atop the 93-golfer field. Her steady play led the Bulldogs to the team title as well, finishing first out of 16 teams. Bochaton was under or at par in all three rounds and posted a stroke average of 71.6 for the week.

Men's Golfer of the Week
Morgan Cain, Lincoln Memorial
(Jr., Cork, Ireland)
Lincoln Memorial junior Morgan Cain earned co-medalist honors at the Mizuno Intercollegiate, shooting 73, 68, and 68 to finish tied for first with a 209 (-7). His back-to-back rounds in the 60s propelled him to the top of the 81-player field. Cain's performance also placed him among just 18 golfers to finish the event under par, and he posted a stroke average of 69.7 for the week.

2025 SAC Golfers of the Week
Women's
Sept. 17 – Amely Bochaton, Wingate

Men's
Sept. 17 – Morgan Cain, Lincoln Memorial