UL Student-Athletes of the Year include: FRONT ROW (from left) Blake Trahan, Kia Wilridge, Damian Farinola, Alexandra Way, Emily Gale, Grace Howell-Harries and Jordan Wallace. BACK ROW (from left to right): Kaylee Nemeth, Steven Wronkoski, Evan Tatford, Matt Rice and Thomas Strandemo.

Duo honored during Monday banquet; student-athletes from all 16 sports honored

LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns student-athletes Evan Tatford and Jordan Wallace were each honored Monday evening during the athletic department’s Student-Athlete of the Year Banquet at the UL Student Union Ballroom.
 
Tatford, a Lafayette native and member of the Ragin’ Cajuns football team, was named the Male Student Athlete of the Year. Tatford played in all 13 games as a reserve tight end during his inaugural season on the gridiron for Louisiana and is currently serving a two-year term as the Sun Belt Conference representative on the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
 
A Biology major, Tatford has been an active member in the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Student-Athlete Advisory Committee since transferring from Tulane after the 2012 season. He has been active in many community service projects with the Ragin’ Cajuns, including visiting local hospitals at Halloween, participating in the "Big Event" and working with Special Olympics, raising money for the annual Adopt A Family for Christmas, and coordinating the annual Welcome Back Convocation for Ragin’ Cajuns student-athletes and staff.
 
Wallace, a senior pitcher on the Ragin’ Cajuns nationally-ranked softball team, was named the Female Student Athlete of the Year. The Weatherford, Texas, native has helped lead Louisiana to its 16th Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship and top-seeded berth in this week’s Sun Belt Conference Softball Championships in San Marcos, Texas.
 
During the 2015 season, Wallace has posted a 15-4 record with a 2.08 earned run average in the circle for the Ragin’ Cajuns while fanning 183 batters in 121.1 innings pitched. Ranked among the national leaders in hits allowed per seven innings and strikeouts per seven innings, Wallace is a three-time NFCA Academic Scholar All-American and has been named to both the UL President’s List and UL Dean’s List.
 
Wallace, who was one of four UL student-athletes named to the Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges," is the 2015 Outstanding Graduate in UL’s Marketing and Hospitality Department.
 
Wallace has been an active member in the community with the Ragin’ Cajuns, including visiting local hospitals, participating in the "Reading in Red" program, working with Special Olympics, the Second Harvest Food Drive, the American Heart Association Heart Walk, along with the local Boy’s and Girl’s Club and ALS Awareness Campaign.
 
Also honored as Student-Athlete of the Year nominees were: Blake Trahan (baseball), Steven Wronkoski (men’s basketball), Kia Wilridge (women’s basketball), Thomas Strandemo (golf), Grace Howell-Harries (women’s soccer), Damian Farinola (men’s tennis), Alexandra Way (women’s tennis), Matt Rice (men’s track and field/cross country), Emily Gale (women’s track and field/cross country) and Kaylee Nemeth (volleyball).
 
Each student-athlete was nominated by their respective head coach and met the criteria of embodying the highest qualities of being an all-around student-athlete through their success in academics, athletics, leadership and community involvement.
 
LOUISIANA RAGIN’ CAJUNS STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR HONOREES
2013-14 – Matt Hicks (Baseball); Natalie Fernandez (Softball)
2014-15 – Evan Tatford (Football); Jordan Wallace (Softball)