DALLAS – Conference USA honored the 14 accomplished recipients of the Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship on Thursday. 2022 marks the 14^th year the award has been named after Dr. Jim Castañeda, who served Rice for 46 years as an educator, coach and Faculty Athletics Representative before he passed in 2008. Every season, C-USA grants the $4,000 scholarship to distinguished graduates selected by the league’s Faculty Athletics Representatives and approved by the Conference USA Board of Directors.
 
2022 Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients
Rocio Safont, Charlotte, Women’s Tennis
Lily Richman, Florida Atlantic, Beach Volleyball
Madison Lewis, FIU, Softball
Torren Kalaskey, Marshall, Women’s Golf
Gretchen Mead, Middle Tennessee, Softball
Lyric Choice, North Texas, Women’s Track and Field
Steele Netterville, Louisiana Tech, Baseball
John Morton, Old Dominion, Football
Nicole Lennon, Rice, Volleyball
Ta’Quoris Newsome, Southern Miss, Football
Brady Greene, UAB, Baseball
Reynaldo Flores, UTEP, Football
Adrian Rodriguez, UTSA, Men’s Basketball
Kenlie Barrett, WKU, Women’s Golf

Rocio Safont, Charlotte, Women’s Tennis
Safont spent five years competing with the 49ers earning First Team All-Conference USA honors in 2020, 2021, 2022 in singles and is the Charlotte all-time career singles win leader. She is an ITA Scholar Athlete with a 3.58 GPA graduating in 2021 with a degree in International Business. This past season, she has been in the Master of Business Administration program, working towards her degree with a concentration in Business Analytics. Safont also was a five-time C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection during her time in Charlotte, a four-time Chancellor’s List, three-time Perfect Niner and did earn a spot on the Dean’s List one semester.
 
Lily Richman, Florida Atlantic, Beach Volleyball
Richman was a member of the Florida Atlantic Beach Volleyball team that finished eighth nationally this past season. The Summa Cum Laude student, graduated with two degrees and a 3.937 GPA. She earned a B.S. in Psychology and Neuroscience & Behavior along with a B.A. in Psychology. Alongside her coursework, Richman served as the Vice President of FAU’s SAAC organization this past academic year. She is interested in pursuing a career as a Physician Assistant and will be taking the next steps to progress towards becoming a PA.

Madison Lewis, FIU, Softball
Lewis graduated in May with a 3.58 GPA majoring in Psychology and minoring in Biology while competing as a member of the FIU softball team. She’s a four-time C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection and earned her team’s Most Improved Award. As the starting centerfielder for the Panthers, Lewis also earned a spot on the Dean’s List twice in her career. She plans to pursue a Master’s at FIU in Kinesiology and Exercise Science while pursuing a potential career in being a Physician’s Assistant in psychiatry.

Steele Netterville, Louisiana Tech, Baseball
Netterville capped his final season with the LA Tech Baseball team in the NCAA Tournament along with being honored with multiple C-USA honors over his four-year career. He is the all-time leader in doubles at LA Tech for his career and was a member of the C-USA All-Freshman Team while earning multiple C-USA Player and Hitter of the Week awards. He earned his B.S. of Biology with a minor in Chemistry in May of 2021 with a 3.9 GPA and has been a multiple C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medalist and Honor Roll selection while also earning CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team honors. Netterville was accepted to the LSU Health medical school and will enroll in the Fall of 2022.
  
Torren Kalaskey, Marshall, Women’s Golf
Kalaskey’s four-year career has been filled with highlights in the classroom. She has been a member of Marshall’s SAAC the last two years including serving as the President in 2020-21. Kalaskey has been on the Dean’s List every semester and is a four-time President’s List (4.0 GPA) selection with her current 3.85 GPA after earning a degree in Biological Science minoring in Chemistry and Creative Writing. The golfer plans to attend West Virginia’s School of Medicine. She was the 2021 C-USA Spring Spirit of Service Award selection for Marshall and was a C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and Academic Medal recipient all four years of her career. Her senior year on the course saw her compete in seven of 10 events with her best finish coming at the Pirate Classic where Kalaskey tied for 10^th.

Gretchen Mead, Middle Tennessee, Softball
Mead has been a member of the Middle Tennessee softball team since 2019 and appeared in 52 games as a pitcher for the Blue Raiders.  Mead managed a 3.430 GPA as she obtained her B.S. in Special Education, Elementary and Special Education, with a minor in Health and Human Performance. The pitcher has been a member of the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll several times and has been a very active volunteer with the Special Olympics. She plans to enroll in MTSU’s Master of Education program to pursue a career as a special education teacher.
 
Lyric Choice, North Texas, Track and Field
Choice is a four-time All-CUSA student-athlete on the Mean Green’s track and field team, competing in the hurdles and relays, while earning a degree in Public Administration and is currently working on completing her Master of Science Public Administration degree. The track standout has been a C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal recipient and during her track career, landed a paid internship with the City of DeSoto’s Public Administration Office. Along with being a first-generation college graduate, Choice is also the first in her extended family to continue on to a post graduate program. She plans to return to the City of DeSoto as a Marketing and Media Specialist following her Master’s graduation in the Fall of 2022.

John Morton, Old Dominion, Football
Morton is a long snapper on the Monarchs’ football team with a 3.888 GPA in Civil Engineering while minoring in Construction, Engineering Management and Environmental Engineer with plans to graduate in December of 2022. He is a three-time C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal Recipient and has made Dean’s List every semester.  He is currently also enlisted in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps Collegiate program and upon graduation he will attend Officer Candidate School to become a Naval Officer. On the field in 2021, he played in all 13 games at long snapper on punts and was a holder for extra points and field goals.

Nicole Lennon, Rice, Volleyball
The highly decorated, two-time C-USA Volleyball Player of the Year (2018, 2020), Lennon graduated in December of 2021 with double major of Psychology and Economics. The outside hitter is a four-time C-USA First Team selection, a three-time AVCA All-American and was the C-USA Freshman of the Year in 2017. Academically, Lennon was a COSIDA First Team Academic All-American, a three-time C-USA All-Academic Team selection and earned second team All-American honors from the Senior CLASS Award. The all-time leader in kills on the court at Rice, is currently working in two psychology research labs and is planning to apply for a PhD in psychology with a goal to work against inequality in Industrial/Organization Psychology as well as Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Ta'Quoris 'TQ' Newsome, Southern Miss, Football
Newsome boasted a 3.940 GPA as he earned his B.S. of Exercise Science with a minor in Chemistry after four years on the Southern Miss football team. The inside linebacker will be attending  Southern Miss’ Exercise Science graduate program before heading to medical school. He is a three-time President’s and Dean’s List selection while also earning the C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal twice. He’s a member of USM’s Honor’s College and has research being published on Methods and Pose on Performance of Two Modern American Football Helmets. He has totaled 33 career tackles in 21 games played, 1.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks.

Brady Greene, UAB, Baseball
Greene, a three-year member of the UAB baseball program, graduated with a 3.73 B.S. in Kinesiology as a three-time C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection. With the time allotted to playing baseball, Greene manages involvement with community service, completing over 30 hours during his time with the Blazers. Having already graduated, Greene has spent his last year of eligibility taking additional classes and doing clinical hours as he prepares for Dental School at UAB in the Fall of 2022. On the field, the RHP posted a 4-0 record in 24 appearances while picking up 23 strikeouts in 22.2 innings.
 
Reynaldo Flores, UTEP, Football
Flores was a four-year letterwinner and running back/wide reciever for UTEP football, having graduated in May 2021 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an undergraduate GPA of 3.90. Currently boasting a graduate degree of 4.0 in UTEP’s M.S. of Mechanical Engineer, Flores was a four-time C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and Academic Medal selection. Having joined the football team as a walk-on, Flores worked his way to an athletic scholarship and has been a leader for his teammates. He’s volunteered in the Unmanned Aerial Systems program while helping one of his professor’s in large scale university projects. Flores competed in 12 games for the Miners in 2021 with 135 on 32 attempts which ranked fourth on the team averaging 10.8 per rush.
 
Adrian Rodriguez, UTSA, Men’s Basketball
Rodriguez has been a three-year varsity member of the men’s basketball team as a power forward in San Antonio while earning a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Business Administration. He also owns his Industrial and Manufacture Engineering Certification. He has been accepted to UTSA’s Masters of Advanced Manufacturing and Enterprise Engineering program. Rodriguez made the UTSA Dean’s List twice and has been a member of the C-USA Commissioner’s honor roll twice. Servicing as a member of SAAC, along with one term as Treasurer, Rodriguez also spent time in the community to volunteer with local elementary and middle schools amongst many other service efforts. The team captain has also worked as an engineer-in-training at a forensics, biomechanics and design company in San Antonio for the last two years.
 
Kenlie Barrett, WKU, Women’s Golf
Barrett is a May 2022 graduate after earning a 3.51 GPA with a B.S. in Exercise Science who plans to pursue a Doctor of Physician Assistant degree with a specialty in orthopedic surgery. The women’s golf senior competed in the lineup in her debut season with the Lady Toppers totaling 29 rounds in 10 tournaments with a 75.8 stroke average. She tied for 28^th at her first C-USA Championship and was a C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection along with earning Dean’s List distinction. Off the course, Barrett was a member of WKU’s SAAC and served as the Student-Athlete Engagement subcommittee chair.