Editor: The following is part of a press release from ovcsports.com.
(BRENTWOOD, TN) – SIUE graduate guard Ray’Sean Taylor has been selected as the Ohio Valley Conference Male Athlete of the Year for 2024-25 in voting by the league’s athletics directors and communications directors.
Tennessee Tech volleyball player Madolyn Isringhausen was named the OVC Female Athlete of the Year on Wednesday.
Taylor is the first SIUE athlete to earn the honor.
Taylor capped his collegiate career by leading SIUE to the OVC Tournament Championship and its first appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament. The Collinsville, Illinois native averaged a career-best 19.1 points per game, which ranked 41st nationally. His 648 total points were not only a career high but were the second most scored in a single season at SIUE.
Taylor, the OVC Player of the Year, finished the season first in the OVC in free throw percentage (84.4%), second in 3-pointers made/game (2.71), third in 3-point percentage (33.9%) and fourth in assists (4.29/game) and steals (1.19/game). He averaged 20.2 points in Conference games and 22.0 points per game during the OVC Tournament on his way to MVP honors.
During the season, Taylor became SIUE’s all-time leader scorer (1,962 points) and leader in 3-pointers made (298) while finishing his career ranked third in school history in assists (380).
Other male nominees for the award included Eastern Illinois senior basketball player Nakyel Shelton.
The OVC first gave out a Male Athlete of the Year award in 1977.
Editor: Morehead State’s Riley Minix claimed last year’s award.
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