Sports
How a single day in Mobile in 1948 helped create baseball's future home run king Hank Aaron
Major League Baseball will tip its cap Tuesday to Mobile’s outsized influence on America’s pastime, a city that produced five Hall of Famers and contributed a host of legendary players to the game. Yet few Hall of Fame moments actually happened in Mobile. The city hasn’t hosted professional baseball since the Minor League Bay Bears […]

Major League Baseball will tip its cap Tuesday to Mobile’s outsized influence on America’s pastime, a city that produced five Hall of Famers and contributed a host of legendary players to the game.
Yet few Hall of Fame moments actually happened in Mobile. The city hasn’t hosted professional baseball since the Minor League Bay Bears left in 2019, and baseball has long been overtaken by football and basketball as the most popular sports among today’s youths.
One moment, however, more than 77 years ago, still looms large over the city’s baseball and cultural legacy. It may have been one of the most consequential chance encounters in professional sports history.
The year was 1948. On a stop through Mobile during Spring Training, Jackie Robinson stood on Davis Avenue, the epicenter of Black culture and life in the Jim Crow South, addressing a crowd of onlookers. Among them was a 14-year-old Henry Aaron, just another face in the crowd.
“It’s a beautiful moment we should definitely celebrate when great figures of history overlap and come in contact,” said Jonathan Eig, a Robinson biographer.
No known photographs or newspaper articles document the moment. Even the exact location remains uncertain. Was it inside an auditorium? Outside, in front of a pharmacy?
But the story, retold by Aaron himself and included in biographies ever since, has taken on a life of its own. That chance encounter, Robinson inspiring Aaron, became a symbolic passing of the torch between two generations, even if no one realized it at the time.
It also underscored Robinson’s powerful influence, just one year after breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier, on young Black Americans across the country.
“He breathed baseball into the Black community, kids and grownups alike,” Aaron recounted in the 1991 book “I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story.”
Hero comes to town

FILE – From left, Brooklyn Dodgers third baseman John Jorgensen, shortstop Pee Wee Reese, second baseman Ed Stanky, and first baseman Jackie Robinson pose before a baseball game against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, N.Y., in this April 15, 1947, file photo. All players, managers, coaches and umpires will wear No. 42 on Thursday, April 15, 2021, to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day, marking the anniversary of the date the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Famer made his Major League Baseball debut and broke the sport’s color barrier in 1947. (AP Photo/Harry Harris, File)AP
Robinson was his inspiration.
“Jackie Robinson was the hero of Davis Avenue – he and Joe Louis,” Aaron recalled in his autobiography. “When Louis would fight, everybody would get together and crowd around the (radio) station, and when the Dodgers were on – a Mobile station carried pirated broadcasts from an announcer named Gordon McLendon – it was practically the same thing.”
As the story goes, Aaron skipped shop class to hear Robinson speak in late March 1948.
The International Longshoremen’s Association Hall was added to the National Register in 2011. It sits adjacent to Isom Clemon Civil Rights Memorial Park, dedicated in January 2025.John Sharp
The speech, according to Aaron, took place inside an auditorium.
Or did it? Other accounts have the speech occurring elsewhere.
In Howard Bryant’s deeply researched biography, “The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron,” he credits Aaron with saying that Robinson’s appearance occurred in front of a drugstore on Davis Avenue. Aaron’s autobiography has the moment happening inside an unnamed auditorium.
“The details of the day would always be sketchy,” Bryant wrote.

A historic marker recognizing Finley’s Drug Stores in Mobile, Ala., sits at the former site of Finley’s No. 3 on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. (formerly Davis Avenue). The drugstores were the first Black chain of drugstores in Alabama.John Sharp
One potential spot for the speech would have been inside a drugstore on Davis Avenue, later renamed to today’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
The drugstore was located inside a building built and owned by Dr. James Alexander Franklin, Sr., who was a prominent physician within Mobile’s Black neighborhoods for 60 years.
Eric Finley, a historian, tour director and storyteller with the Friends of the African American Heritage Trail, said a drugstore was located on the first floor inside Franklin’s building. In 1948, it was named Davis Avenue Pharmacy.
The store, a few years later, would become part of the Finley family chain of drugstores as Finley’s No. 3. The Finley family operated the first Black-owned chain of drugstores in Alabama.
A historic marker stands outside the home of Dr. James Alexander Franklin, a pioneering Black caregiver in the Mobile area in the early 20th century.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com
Adding another layer to this historic connection: A few years later, in the 1950s, there is documented proof that Robinson stayed at the home of Dr. James Franklin on Ann Street, a few miles from the drugstore.
“Jackie Robinson stayed at Dr. Franklin’s house on Ann Street so it would make sense that is where (Robinson) spoke,” Finley said.
A historic marker sits in front of the Ann Street house recognizing Franklin’s influence and the fact that he once opened his home to Black celebrities, including Robinson, who visited Mobile during segregation.
Finley said if the speech occurred inside an auditorium, it would have likely taken place one block away at the International Longshoremen’s Association Hall. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. It is where King, in 1959, was the keynote speaker during Mobile’s annual Emancipation Day program.
The area, along with the Longshoremen’s building, is part of a revitalization project highlighted in January with unveiling of Isom Clemons Civil Rights Memorial Park.
“It was a facility, at that time, where all the formal balls were held,” Finley said.
Father-son moment

UNDATED: Outfielder Hank Aaron #44 of the Atlanta Braves relaxes in the dugout during a circa 1970s game. (Photo by Focus on Sport via Getty Images)Focus on Sport via Getty Images
Aaron, in his autobiography, said a poignant father-son conversation with his dad, Herbert, was also a part of the backdrop to the Robinson visit.
The young Aaron said he had dreams of playing in the big leagues. Before Robinson’s 1947 season, “daddy would set me straight,” Aaron recalled.
“I remember sitting on the back porch once when an airplane flew over, and I told Daddy I’d like to be a pilot when I grow up,” Aaron writes. “He said, ‘Ain’t no colored pilots.’ I said, okay, then, I’ll be a ballplayer. He said, ‘Ain’t no colored ballplayers.’ But he never said that anymore after we sat in the colored section of Hartwell Field and watched Jackie Robinson.”
The site where Hartwell Field once stood is now an impound lot for the Mobile Police Department. The baseball stadium, was located on Ann Street, between Virginia and Tennessee streets. It was built in 1927, and hosted minor league baseball for decades. The stadium, named after a former Mobile mayor, was destroyed by Hurricane Frederic in 1979.John Sharp
Hartwell Field was the epicenter of Mobile baseball, opening in 1927. The stadium, which lasted until it was badly damaged by Hurricane Frederic in 1979, was at Tennessee and Ann streets and could seat over 9,300 spectators.
It was home to the Mobile Bears and a variety of minor league teams during its heyday. But it hosted icons in its earliest years, including the New York Yankees teams of the 1930s with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig visiting the Deep South for exhibition games.
It was also where Robinson played a game in 1948, with a youthful Aaron watching from the stands.
The entire day – a speech by Robinson, an exhibition game at Hartwell Field – laid the groundwork for the future Home Run king.
“Henry had skipped school to see Robinson … and for the next six decades of his life, Henry would say that outside those with the members of his own family, no moment ever affected his outlook on what was possible in the world more than that day,” Bryant wrote.
Influential encounter
The chance encounter has, over the years, taken on a life of its own from stories and rehashing by Aaron.
It has been told and retold during events and in books. Joe Formichella, an author from Fairhope, wrote about the encounter in his book about the Prichard Mohawks. The introduction of his book was read aloud by City Attorney Richardo Woods during a 2022 event commemorating the beginning of a project to create statues of Mobile’s Hall of Fame athletes.
Legendary broadcaster Bob Costas also highlighted the story in a eulogy he gave during Aaron’s funeral in 2021.
Costas, in his speech, took note of the conversation between Aaron and his father, who said the dreams of becoming a professional ballplayer was fleeting in the 1940s, before Robinson integrated the game.
But at Hartwell Field in 1948, Aaron “got his first on field look of his idol and inspiration,” Costas said. “As it turned out, Herbert Aaron was mistaken. His son would not only become a big league baseball player, but one of the very greatest of all time. A Mount Rushmore player.”
Robinson’s influence
Formichella said the moment, in retrospect, is so large that it deserves recognition in Mobile – a historic marker, or even a commemoration on Jackie Robinson Day of April 15.
“Even before Hank Aaron was closing in on Ruth’s record, Mobile was renowned for the baseball talent it was producing,” he said. “Talent, like Aaron, that wanted to play baseball in part because of Jackie Robinson.”
Cleon Jones, a member of the New York Mets Hall of Fame and a longtime resident and community advocate for the Africatown community of Mobile, said he was unfamiliar with the particulars of Aaron’s teenage encounter with Robinson. But he said he is aware of similar stories that inspired future Major League Baseball players.
Jones said that Ed Charles, his Mets teammate on the 1969 world championship squad, had a similar encounter with Robinson as a child. The moment was embellished in the 2013 movie, “42.”
“He and Hank were around the same age,” Jone said about Charles. “There was that inspiration.”
Eig, the Robinson biographer, said similar stories abound.
“Robinson knew what he was doing during those public appearances,” Eig said. “That part of his job was to inspire young men like Hank Aaron to think big.”
He added, “You can’t overstate the impact he had on the Black community. There were not Black members of the Senate or the White House cabinet. He was one of the most admired men in the Black community. MLK was a teenager at the time. The civil rights movement, no one was calling it yet. People were traveling for hundreds of miles to see him play, packing lunches and dinners. It was the biggest thing to happen.”
Aaron’s encounter stands out. It was Aaron, as a member of the Atlanta Braves, who broke Ruth’s home run record in 1974 by rising above threatening hate mail and racism that followed him in 1973.
“Jackie Robinson once famously said a life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives,” Costas said during his eulogy of Aaron in 2021. “More than 70 years ago, Jackie Robinson had no way of knowing the impact he would have on a kid who skipped a school to hear him speak and climbed a tree to watch him play. No way to know that the kid would go on to become, in many respects, the most significant baseball player since Jackie Robinson himself.”
Hall of Fame Walk
Aaron, because of his roots as a Mobile native, will be honored once again in Mobile on Tuesday with the official commemoration of a 9-foot-tall bronze statue on Water Street.
Five other Hall of Famers, all who were born and raised in Mobile, will join Aaron: Satchel Paige, Willie McCovey, Billy Williams, Ozzie Smith and the NFL’s Robert Brazile.
Brazile, Williams and Smith – the three living Hall of Famers – will be at a 1:30 p.m. ribbon cutting ceremony honoring the new $11 million park along Water Street and in front of the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center.
The park features 9-foot bronze statues placed on 1-foot-tall pedestals. A blank pedestal is also part of the park’s feature, allowing visitors to stand on it and have their picture taken among the rest of the Hall of Famers.
“When the child is there and they are looking at the people of old and what they meant to their sport, let them dream,” said former Mobile City Councilman John Williams, who came up with the idea of an empty pedestal that can be used for pictures and selfies with the statues in the background. “A pedestal says, ‘future Hall of Famer,’ and stands among those greats, it allows someone to dream.”
Just like Aaron did on Davis Avenue in 1948, with the real-life Robinson holding court.
“For them to have that moment to cross paths in the same place, that’s beautiful,” Eig said.
Sports
Both Chargers Track and Field Teams, 13 athletes earn 2025 USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors
Story Links 2025 USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Awards In the 2024-25 season, the Hillsdale College men’s and women’s track and field teams continued to excel — both on the track and in the classroom. Earlier this week, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association recognized the Chargers […]

2025 USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Awards
In the 2024-25 season, the Hillsdale College men’s and women’s track and field teams continued to excel — both on the track and in the classroom.
Earlier this week, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association recognized the Chargers with a variety of awards that all reflect the programs’ academic success. Both men’s and women’s teams earned Team All-Academic honors from the USTFCCCA, and 13 athletes from both programs were individually recognized as well.
In order to receive the Team All-Academic distinction from the USTFCCCA, programs must have an average cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher across all athletes in the program.
It’s a mark both programs easily exceeded in 2023-24. The Charger men had a cumulative GPA of 3.30 , while the women’s mark of 3.43 also passed the required threshold for the honor with plenty of room to spare.
Hillsdale’s success in competition — 14 total berths to NCAA DII Indoor and Outdoor championships, five combined first-team All-American honors, and the program’s first two individual national championships on the men’s side since 2015 — showed the Chargers’ athletic strength, and many of those athletes also excelled academically, with several of them receiving All-Academic recognition from the USTFCCCA individually.
In order to qualify for All-Academic honors, an athlete must post a 3.25 cumulative GPA and achieve at least one provisional qualifying mark during the 2024-25 indoor and outdoor seasons.
On the men’s side, two-time national champion Ben Haas was one of four Chargers honorees, adding All-Academic distinction for the second straight season to a long list of accolades that included titles in the weight throw indoors and the hammer throw outdoors at the NCAA DII Championships. NCAA DII Outdoor Championship qualifier Richie Johnston received his third All-Academic honor, while Ross Kuhn, an All-American in the 1,500m run, earned the award for the first time, as did teammate and distance runner Gabriel Phillips.
On the women’s side, mid-distance runner Reese Dragovich earned All-Academic honors for the fourth straight year, claiming the maximum number of the honor possible for her career at Hillsdale, while pole vaulter and NCAA DII Outdoor qualifier Kaylee Jackson also earned All-Academic honors for the third straight season, and junior sprinter Francesca Federici earned the distinction for the second time in her career.
Six women’s track and field athletes received All-Academic honors from the USTFCCCA for the first time in 2025 — freshman distance runner and All-American Allison Kuzma, senior sprinter Josee Behling, senior pole vaulter Katie Clifford, sophomore thrower Olivia Newsome, sophomore mid-distance runner Megan Roberts, and freshman jumper Baelyn Zitzmann.
Sports
Evelyn Bliss Resets School Record, Advances to Tomorrow’s Finals at the 2025 FISU World University Games
RHINE-RUHR, GERMANY– With mid-morning fully engaged in the scenic Rhine landscape, Evelyn Bliss, clad in her glorious Red, White, and Blue Team USA jersey, began her run for her first throw of the 2025 FISU World University Games Qualifying Round Group A. The Team USA thrower took a deep breath, revved her engine, installed the […]

SCHOOL RECORD!
Throwing at the FISU World University Games this morning, Bliss, ON HER FIRST THROW, tossed 60.81m (199-5) to break her school record!
She finished first in her qualifying section and advances to tomorrow’s championship!#rayBucknell | #FeelingBlissful pic.twitter.com/DDAjBLht70
— Bucknell Track & XC (@Bucknell_TFXC) July 25, 2025
The mark reset her school record that the rising junior established at the 2025 NCAA East First Round, nabbed her first place in the qualifying round, and slotted into tenth in USA women’s javelin history. The distance held up after Qualifying Round Group B as the supreme mark of the morning.
“Going into qualifying rounds I had a good feeling, practices all week felt very strong,” said Bliss. “Coach Protzman and I worked on being consistently in the 50m for practice. I was excited to compete today. Having the chance to compete internationally against these very competitive women is always a blessing. Looking towards tomorrow I want to replicate what I did today and I think that will put me in a very nice place.”
Bucknell throws coach Ryan Protzman, Bliss’ dedicated and expert mentor, was unable to make the expedition. He and her wife recently celebrated the birth of their firstborn child – a strapping baby boy, but he was up at 3:35 a.m. Eastern Time to watch his protege.
“60 meters is such a massive benchmark in women’s javelin,” said Protzman. “I’m so happy for her. The challenges I’ve presented her with the last couple of years haven’t been all technical. Recently, we have just been pushing training throws a little more. Never has she focused on how far she threw a javelin in training with me until after NCAAs a month and a half ago. Today was special, and I think there is much more to go chase tomorrow in the final!”
Bliss was the only thrower to hit 60 meters in the qualifying round. Lianna Davidson (Australia) placed second, throwing 57.83, and Turkey’s Esra Turkmen finished third at 57.48. The best javelineer in Group B, Australia’s Mia Gordon, hit 56.39.
Twelve throwers advanced in all to the finals. Group A was more top heavy but Group B sent the quantity – seven.
Bliss has carved a name for herself in the javelin community, despite only reaching her twentieth year. Appropriately, the USA thrower shares her birthday with the United States Army on June 14 – Flag Day. She has reached the part of the hike where her heroes have become rivals and realistic goals to surpass. American legend Kara Winger represents that mark in Bliss’ journey.
Winger holds the American record for women’s javelin when she threw 68.11m (223-5) at the 2022 Diamond League and has won the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships eight times. She and Bliss shared the stage at the 2024 United States Olympic Trials where Winger finished second and Bliss, threw, at the time, a personal best of 55.82m (183-2), placing sixth.
Winger, like all great athletes, understand and cultivate the importance of building the sport for the next generation. She sees those same qualities in Bliss and offered her thoughts on the budding star’s best traits:
“The thing that stands out to me about Evie is her focus, joy, and community building in her javelin career,” said Winger. “Whenever I’ve seen her, she’s sharing enthusiasm about the sport and event with someone in her camp, growing her love for the process alongside someone she cares about. Today, watching her celebrate with those people means to me that she’s here to stay: She’s building a foundation, and I look forward to watching her continue to thrive! I’ll always be glad I got to share the runway with her once.”
The finals begin tomorrow at 8:20 a.m. Eastern Time/2:20 p.m. German Time and will be streamed on FISU TV.
Sports
AHSAA All-Star Week: South rolls to volleyball win to close out competition
The South volleyball All-Stars closed out the AHSAA North-South All-Star Week on Thursday with a 3-1 win over the North at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl MultiPlex. The South All-Stars won 25-22, 25-19, 17-25, 25-19, ending the week’s competition with wins in baseball, basketball, golf and softball. The North All-Stars swept the cross country races and the […]

The South volleyball All-Stars closed out the AHSAA North-South All-Star Week on Thursday with a 3-1 win over the North at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl MultiPlex.
The South All-Stars won 25-22, 25-19, 17-25, 25-19, ending the week’s competition with wins in baseball, basketball, golf and softball. The North All-Stars swept the cross country races and the teams split in tennis and soccer.
The South jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the two sets thanks to the balanced play of the front row led by Daphne’s Ella Lomax, Charli Pearce of Saraland, Rehobeth’s Kryslin Martin and Bayside Academy’s talented 6-foot-3 outside hitter Haley Robinson. Setter Libby Rogers of Fairhope managed the attacks with her assists.
The North’s Millie Burgess of Vestavia Hills and Kendall Buckley of Bob Jones stepped up, however, and helped their team claw back into the match as the North won the third set.
In the end, Lomax delivered 4 key kills to close out the fourth set. The South was also aided by libero M.K. Whitehurst, who served 4 aces to separate the teams late in the final set. She finished with 5 aces.
Lomax finished with 9 kills and 3 digs to earn South MVP honors. Martin had 9 kills, Pearce and Bennett Buolo of St. Paul’s added 6 kills each. Robinson had 5 and Cami Huff of McGill-Toolen had 5. Libby Rogers finished with 12 assists and 9 digs with Baylee Rogers of Prattville Christian contributing 14 for the South.
Burgess totaled 17 kills to earn MVP honors for the North. Buckley had 11 plus 10 digs. Kennedy Moss of Huntsville totaled 8. Setter Cailyn Kyes dished out 29 assists and totaled 8 digs.
AHSAA NORTH-SOUTH
ALL-STAR RESULTS/SCHEDULE
Girls golf: South 43.5, North 28.5 (North girls lead series 4-2)
Boys golf: South 56.5, North 33.5 (North boys lead series 5-1)
Baseball: South 16-7, North 6-7 (North boys lead series 24-19-5)
Girls cross country: North 22, South 37 (North leads series 6-2)
Boys cross country: North 25, South 35 (North leads series 6-2)
Girls basketball: South 85, North 75 (North leads series 24-4)
Boys basketball: South 76, North 65 (North leads series 51-31)
Girls tennis: Lagoon Park, 5 p.m., Tuesday (North leads series 4-0)
Boys tennis: Lagoon Park, 5 p.m., Tuesday (North leads series 3-1)
Softball: South 2-4, North 0-2 (North leads series 29-27-2)
Girls soccer: South 4, North 3 (North leads 19-4-1)
Boys soccer: North 3, South 1 (North leads 17-4-1)
Volleyball: South 3, North (North leads series 16-11)
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Sports
Graduate Assistant Coach (Track and Field Multi’s or Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps) in New Orleans, LA for Loyola University New Orleans
Details Posted: 25-Jul-25 Location: New Orleans, Louisiana Type: Part-time Salary: Tuition + Categories: Coaching Coaching – Track & Field Sector: Professional Sports Salary Details: Compensation will include Tuition, partial fees and On-Campus room and board (private on-campus apartment in one of the university dormitories) – there is no monetary stipend provided. This is a Graduate […]

Details
Posted: 25-Jul-25
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Type: Part-time
Salary: Tuition +
Categories:
Coaching
Coaching – Track & Field
Sector:
Professional Sports
Salary Details:
Compensation will include Tuition, partial fees and On-Campus room and board (private on-campus apartment in one of the university dormitories) – there is no monetary stipend provided.
This is a Graduate Assistant coaching position.
Provide coaching expertise and leadership for the combined Men’s and Women’s Track and Field programs at Loyola University New Orleans. Seeking one (1) candidate to serve as the graduate assistant coach, assisting the full-time sprints/hurdles/jumps coach with coaching and managing these event group athletes. The primary responsibility is the direct coaching of student-athletes, applying Loyola track and field program philosophies, methods and the candidate’s own skillset and pedagogy, in collaboration with the head and assistant coaches.
Duties to include:
Assist in the organization, design, implementation and supervision for all event-group specific training and practices (primarily off-campus), including transportation of student-athletes and equipment. Will work directly with the full-time sprints/hurdles/jumps coach.
Competition attendance and competition coaching
Attend and participate in team staff meetings
Maintenance and inventory of all relevant event group equipment
Driving of university vehicles to competitions and off-campus practices, as needed (MUST qualify for university certification to drive campus vehicles – must have valid US drivers license and clean driving record)
Administrative responsibilities to include fundraising, academic monitoring, recruiting and project management, as assigned by the head coach.
- Must possess and maintain a current valid driver’s license as a condition of employment, and must also be able to successfully pass any driver background investigation and any driver education courses required by Risk Management.
- Must possess bachelors degree and be immediately admissible to Loyola’s graduate school in the program of choice.
About Loyola University New Orleans
Mission Statement
Loyola University New Orleans, a Jesuit and Catholic institution of higher education, welcomes students of diverse backgrounds and prepares them to lead meaningful lives with and for others; to pursue truth, wisdom, and virtue; and to work for a more just world. Inspired by Ignatius of Loyola’s vision of finding God in all things, the university is grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, while also offering opportunities for professional studies in undergraduate and selected graduate programs. Through teaching, research, creative activities, and service, the faculty, in cooperation with the staff, strives to educate the whole student and to benefit the larger community.
Vision Statement
As a Catholic, Jesuit University, Loyola University New Orleans is an academic community dedicated to the education of the whole person. By thinking critically and acting justly, students are to embody the Ignatian ideals of faith, truth, justice, and service. To meet these goals, the University will strive to become an increasingly selective university with outstanding liberal arts and sciences, professional, and graduate programs grounded in intellectual rigor and reflecting the more than 450-year Ignatian tradition.
Connections working at Loyola University New Orleans
https://ncaamarket.ncaa.org/jobs/21521554/graduate-assistant-coach-track-and-field-multi-s-or-sprints-hurdles-jumps
Sports
Eagles volleyball earns team academic award
CHENEY – On Monday, Eastern Washington University athletics announced the volleyball team received the American Volleyball Coaches Associations team academic award. According to their statement, they also received the AVCA team academic honor roll distinction. “I couldn’t be prouder of our team for earning this award,” said head coach Jon Haruguchi. “We ask a great […]

CHENEY – On Monday, Eastern Washington University athletics announced the volleyball team received the American Volleyball Coaches Associations team academic award. According to their statement, they also received the AVCA team academic honor roll distinction.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our team for earning this award,” said head coach Jon Haruguchi. “We ask a great deal of our athletes, and to see their hard work in the classroom recognized on a national level is an honor we deeply value. They consistently represent our team, school, and community with integrity and pride, both on and off the court.”
According to the AVCA, the academic award aims to recognize programs that maintained a 3.3 GPA or higher throughout the 2024-25 academic year. Their honor roll distinction celebrates programs in the top 20% of GPAs for their division. This year the AVCA saw record numbers of recipients.
“It is very exciting to see that the record-setting, on-court successes during the 2024-25 season have extended to the classroom,” says AVCA CEO Jaime Gordon. “The fact that more programs earned the Team Academic Award than ever before is evidence of how committed our coaches are when it comes to helping their players reach their goals as both students and athletes.”
According to the Eagles statement, this is the program’s 21st time receiving the award and their eighth straight.
Sports
Long Beach State Women’s Tennis, Five Players Recognized With ITA Academic Awards
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced its Academic Award winners for the 2024-25 season, and Long Beach State had five players honored as well as winning the team award for the 21st consecutive season. In order for teams to be honored by the ITA, the full squad must maintain an […]

In order for teams to be honored by the ITA, the full squad must maintain an average cumulative GPA of 3.20 or above, while ITA Scholar-Athletes must maintain a GPA over 3.50.
The team easily cleared the bar for recognition once again. Junior Paulina Franco Martinessi earned the honor for the second straight season, her second at Long Beach State, while four freshmen earned the award for their efforts in the classroom: Daisy Carpenter, Diana De Simone, Johanna Hiesmair, and Thea Jagare.
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