JACKSONVILLE – After posting personal bests in both of the events she competed in over the weekend, Austin Peay State University track and field team’s Taylin Segree was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Week, the league announced Wednesday.

A La Vergne, Tennessee native, Segree raced in both the 200-meter and 400-meter at last weekend’s Music City Challenge hosted by Vanderbilt. Her 54.32-second mark in the 400 meter bested her previous fastest time set just two weeks ago Long Beach State’s Beach Invitational, April 19, and stands as the third-fasted time in the ASUN Conference.

Segree also posted a 24.45 time in the 200-meter dash, which, in addition to her mark in the 400-meter, leads all ASUN freshmen. 

Segree has participated in five meets throughout the Governors’ outdoor campaign, where she has earned seven top five finishes, in addition to nine top 10 marks.

Segree’s ASUN Freshman of the Week recognition is the second of the season and first since Jan. 15 when she earned the honor during the indoor season.

Segree and the Governors return to the track next weekend to compete in the 2025 ASUN Conference Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship hosted by North Florida, May 15-17, at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. 

STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Beach Volleyball had already signed two national champions to its 2025-26 roster, and now the Texans have added a national runner-up from just a few days ago.
 
On Wednesday, Tarleton State announced its sixth signing for 2025-26, Taylor Orris (6-0) from State College of Florida.
 
Orris is ranked as part of a top-five pair in the FCSAA, helping the Manatees take second in the NJCAA National Beach Volleyball Championship on Saturday. State College of Florida lost to Palm Beach State in the finals, a junior college program that featured two incoming Texans as well in Salome Galvez and Isabel Schattauer.
 
Orris has lengthy beach volleyball experience, playing four varsity years in high school, two years for the club team Venetian Bay, and one year at the junior college level. For Venetian Bay, Orris helped the club team to first place in the Sunshine State Qualifier.
 
Orris, a Venice, Florida, native, played four sports in high school. Besides beach volleyball, she played four varsity years of indoor volleyball, four varsity years of basketball, and a year of track and field. She was a beach volleyball Pair of the Year All-Area finalist, an indoor volleyball All-Area finalist, a basketball All-Area finalist, three times an indoor volleyball district champion and once a basketball district champion. She logged over 600 kills in indoor volleyball and scored over 1,000 points in basketball.
 
Orris will study business upon arrival at Tarleton State University.
 

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The NCAA has released its annual Academic Progress Rate (APR) report, and once again, every Bucknell varsity athletics team easily surpassed the NCAA’s benchmark of a 930 score. In fact, 11 Bison programs boast perfect 1,000 scores, 20 have marks of 980 or higher, and all programs scored 963 or better.
 
The APR is a formula created 21 years ago and is used by the NCAA to measure teams’ academic performance in terms of eligibility and retention. Scores under 930 previously resulted in certain NCAA-imposed penalties, including loss of scholarships and ineligibility for postseason play. This is the fourth year of publicly reported APRs after a one-year COVID-19 hiatus. In 2022, the Division I Board of Directors approved the release of APR scores but voted to continue the suspension of program penalties. However, normal operations are being enforced this year for teams scoring below the 930 benchmark, with strategic penalties that encourage an emphasis and prioritization on academics. 
 
Under the APR system, a student-athlete can be awarded two points per semester — one for remaining academically eligible throughout the semester and another for being retained for the next term. Team percentages are then calculated to determine its APR.
 
The latest APR data represents a four-year average for the 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 academic years. The NCAA evaluates programs based on a four-year rolling average.
 

According to the latest round of data, 11 of 25 Bison teams (indoor and outdoor track & field are considered one sport in the formula) have perfect 1,000 scores in the four-year average. Those programs are field hockey, men’s and women’s golf, men’s soccer, men’s swimming and diving, men’s water polo, wrestling, women’s basketball, women’s cross country, women’s tennis, and volleyball.
 
The national average for all sports held steady at 984 for the fourth consecutive year.
 

Penn State, the reigning NCAA volleyball national champion, landed All-American outside hitter Kennedy Martin from the transfer portal on Wednesday.

Martin, who led the nation in points per set (6.28) and was second in the nation in kills per set (5.57) last season as a sophomore at Florida, announced her decision on Instagram.

“I’m thrilled to announce my commitment to Penn State to continue my volleyball journey,” Martin wrote. “This opportunity means the world to me, and I’m so thankful for everyone who helped me get here – my coaches, teammates, family and friends.”

The 6-foot-6 Martin is expected to help replace the production lost from the graduation of Jess Mruzik, who was named the most outstanding player of the 2024 NCAA tournament after leading the Nittany Lions to their eighth national championship.

A year ago, Martin and Florida fell in the regional semifinals to Stanford. Martin had 21 kills in the Gators’ four-set loss. She was a semifinalist for the AVCA Division I Player of the Year Award.

“I can’t wait to be a part of such a strong and storied program,” Martin wrote on Instagram.

Martin is the daughter of Ruvell Martin, who spent seven seasons as a wide receiver in the NFL.