GSC TOP TEN FULL RELEASE
 
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Senior Rhiannon Sassman has been selected as a Gulf South Conference Top Ten Award winner, the league announced on Tuesday. The award recognizes the top five female and top five male student-athletes in the GSC for their athletic, academic, and extracurricular achievement during the 2018-19 academic year. The top male and top female from each group of honorees will be awarded the Commissioner's Trophy, which is the conference's most elite award.
 
Sassman is joined by UWF senior men's golfer Christian Bosso on the Top Ten list, and her fellow GSC female student-athletes include MaKayla Beebe (Lee, Volleyball), Franziska Bremm (West Georgia, Golf), Nicole Federovitch (Alabama Huntsville, Lacrosse), Sarah Mumme (Delta State, Cross Country).
 
Sassman's tireless work ethic and positive attitude allowed her to play an integral part in the success of the UWF softball program. The Argonauts enjoyed their most successful season in over a decade in 2019, winning the regular season and postseason GSC Championships with 54 victories on the year, taking their second South Region Title in the last three seasons, and making another trip to the NCAA Championship. Sassman was outstanding during her senior campaign, leading her team with 27 extra base hits, 52 RBIs and a .601 slugging percentage.
 
She was named the GSC Player of the Year and the D2CCA South Region Player of the Year for her efforts. Sassman is also a two-time NFCA All-American, garnering a second-team spot this season as a third baseman and a first-team spot as a freshman in 2016. The Orlando, Florida, native has also helped West Florida advance to the NCAA Championship twice, in 2017 and this season.
 
The senior infielder has served as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative for the University of the West Florida for the current school year and has made her mark as a volunteer in Pensacola, working with the Miracle League, Special Olympics and Sacred Heart Children's Hospital. Sassman is a Biomedical Sciences major with a grade point average of 3.87, earning her GSC Academic Honor Roll recognition three times and GSC Spring All-Academic Team honors last season. She was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team twice, and has appeared on both the Dean's List and the President's Honor Roll multiple times at UWF.
 
The award presentations will be made at the GSC's Annual Awards Banquet on Thursday, May 30, at the Hilton Pensacola Beach. Following the top ten presentations, the conference will reveal the winners of the Commissioner's Trophies and recognize the All-Sports Trophy Champions (Overall: West Florida, Men: Valdosta State, Women: West Florida).
 
The "Top Ten" are selected with the assistance of an advisory committee representing the Athletic Directors, Senior Woman Administrators, Sports Information Directors, Faculty Athletics Representatives, and Presidents from randomly selected GSC schools, which makes a recommendation to the Commissioner, who has the final decision.