South Dakota State soccer player Diana Potterveld (Fort Collins, Colo.) and Omaha baseball player Clayton Taylor (Omaha,Neb.) have been selected as the 2015-16 Summit League Scholar-Athletes of the Year in a vote by the league’s faculty athletic representatives.
The Summit League Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards are the most prestigious individual honors given by the league each season.
Potterveld is the second female student-athlete from South Dakota State to be named Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Jennifer Warkenthien, 2008-09).
The senior propelled the Jackrabbits to their second straight league championship in 2015, being named Tournament MVP with two goals in the championship match. On the year, the senior tallied nine goals and four assists for 22 points. She had one game-winning goal and started all 21 matches for the Jackrabbits. Potterveld was selected first team All-Summit League three times in her career (2012, 2014, 2015), along with being named Freshman of the Year in 2012 and Offensive Player of the Year in 2014.
In the classroom, Potterveld distinguished herself by graduating in just seven semesters with a 4.00 GPA as a biology major (pre-physician’s assistant) with minors in Spanish and chemistry. The Fort Collins, Colo., native graduated Summa Cum Laude and was awarded an NCAA post-graduate scholarship. She was selected to The Summit League’s All-Academic Team three times (2013, 2014, 2015) and was also a first team CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-American in 2014. Potterveld was involved in multiple extracurricular activities, including serving as SDSU’s SAAC President in 2015, a TRiO program tutor and a team coordinator for Project Joy/Adopt a Family.
Taylor’s selection as the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year marks the first time an Omaha student-athlete has received the distinction.
The senior third baseman was named Summit League Player of the Year and became a four-time all-league selection following the 2016 campaign. He completed the season with a .326 batting average, .544 slugging percentage and .430 on-base percentage. He led the league with 66 RBI and was second in home runs with 11, while collecting 43 runs, 12 doubles and 10 stolen bases. Taylor was also named a Freshman All-American by Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball in 2013.
Academically, Taylor graduated Magna Cum Laude in May with a 3.81 grade-point average (GPA) with a major in IT innovation and minor in management information systems. The UNO Scott Scholar for Engineering recipient was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team and earned his third consecutive Academic All-Summit League honor this season. A Chancellor’s and Dean’s List honoree, the Omaha, Neb., native has also been named to The Summit League Academic Honor Roll and Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence. In the community, Taylor has volunteered his time at the YMCA, Office on Youth, Camp Light, Habitat for Humanity and Watorford at Miracle Hills Assisted Living.
