Athletic Updates

BASEBALL OPENS PLAY ON NEW FIELD, DOMINATES AAC

The 2021 season saw the baseball team play on a new playing surface at Athens Insurance Stadium. Thanks to numerous generous donations, the program was able to replace the natural grass on Jack Bowling Field with artificial turf before the beginning of the season. The Bulldogs finished the season with a 53-6 overall record and won both the Appalachian Athletic Conference Regular Season and AAC Tournament Championships.

BASEBALL SEES PROGRAM’S FIRST NAIA NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR; THREE NAMED NAIA ABCA/RAWLINGS ALLAMERICANS

Gary Mattis Jr., Kobe Foster, and Zach Hogueisson were named NAIA ABCA/Rawlings All-Americans after the 2021 season. Mattis Jr. was named the NAIA National Player of the Year, becoming the first player in program history to win the award. Mattis Jr. was also awarded the 2021 ABCA/Rawlings NAIA Gold Glove at the shortstop position, becoming the second player in program history to earn a Gold Glove honor. THREE FORMER PITCHERS EARN MLB PROMOTIONS

Three former Bulldog pitchers, Cole Bellair (Minnesota Twins), Tayler Saucedo (Toronto Blue Jays), and Ryan Hartman (Houston Astros) made their Major League Baseball debuts in June.

TWU EARNS MULTIPLE NAIA ACADEMIC AWARDS

On the NAIA National Awards Day in September, the association announced the NAIA Scholar Teams and Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Eight teams from Tennessee Wesleyan earned the distinction of NAIA Scholar Teams, and 65 student-athletes were honored as Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

ESPORTS COMPETES FOR FIRST-TIME EVER AS VARSITY SPORT

The Esports program had its first-ever competition in September 2021. The team competed in three different National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) Starleagues: Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Overwatch, and Rocket League. The program won its first-ever match on September 13.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL ADDED AS NEW VARSITY SPORT

Tennessee Wesleyan University announced men’s volleyball as the school’s 22nd varsity sport on September 23, 2021. Considered one of the fastest growing sports, the men’s volleyball program will begin competition in Spring 2023. The team will compete as a part of the Appalachian Athletic Conference.

TWO MEN’S BASKETBALL STUDENTATHLETES JOIN MEN’S BASKETBALL’S 1,000 CAREER POINTS CLUB

Ty Patterson and Bryant Bernard both scored their 1,000th career point in 2021. Patterson and Bernard were the 38th and 39th players, respectively, to reach the scoring milestone. The feat marks the first time the Bulldogs have had two student-athletes score their 1,000th career point in the same season since 2013.

RICE WINS 300TH CAREER GAME AS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL COACH

Head coach Jeff Rice (’94) picked up his 300th career win as the head women’s basketball coach in November. Rice is only the second coach in program history to win 300 games and third between both basketball programs to reach the 300-win mark. The five-time AAC Coach of the year and TWU Hall of Famer also recorded 350 wins during his time as the head coach of the softball program, making Rice the only coach in school history to record 300 wins with two sports.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL GETS A NEW HEAD COACH

Women’s volleyball began the new year by announcing Kylie Whaley as the new head coach of the program.

“Throughout the interview process, it was clear in Kylie’s passion for the sport and the studentathlete that she was the right choice to be the leader of our women’s volleyball program,” said Director of Athletics, Donny Mayfield.

Whaley graduated from Milligan University in 2014 and was a four-year member of the volleyball program; upon graduating, Whaley coached at Jefferson County High School where she was named Coach of the Year after her first season. For the last five years, Whaley served as an assistant coach for Milligan University. Whaley is excited to join the Bulldogs and has already set a foundation for the program.