The James Madison University Department of Athletics celebrated its athletics achievements for the 2014-15 year and named its top athletics award winners on Monday night at the seventh annual JMU Athletics Recognition Banquet at the Festival Conference Center Ballroom.
Receiving top athletic accolades were softball junior Jailyn Ford and football redshirt senior Vad Lee, who were voted the JMU Male and Female Athletes of the Year, while women’s basketball redshirt senior Lauren Okafor and men’s soccer junior Daniel Roppert were chosen as the Female and Male Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
Ford was selected as the Female Athlete of the Year after she made history last season, becoming JMU softball’s first-ever All-American as a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Second Team All-American. A NFCA All-Region First Teamer, she was named Pitcher of the Year by both the Colonial Athletic Association and Eastern College Athletic Conference, while being named to the first team for both leagues. She was voted to the 2014 CAA All-Tournament Team after helping the Dukes capture their second tournament title in program history.
She started all 60 games for the Dukes in 2014 as either a pitcher, designated player or first baseman and hit .268 with nine doubles, a team-best nine home runs, 29 RBIs, 26 runs, 34 walks and nine steals. Ford also went 24-7 in the circle with a 1.26 ERA, adding nine shutouts, two combined shutouts, 21 complete games and four saves. She struck out 233 opposing batters while holding foes to a .200 batting average in her 228.2 innings of work. Ford set or tied program records for wins, strikeouts, starts, innings pitched, appearances and shutouts.
Lee was awarded Male Athlete of the Year after being named an Associated Press Third Team All-American this past season. He won the Bill Dudley Award, handed out to the top Division I player in the state of Virginia, honored as theRoanoke Times State Player of the Year and tallied All-CAA Second Team honors. The Walter Payton Award Finalist led the Dukes to a 9-4 record and a berth in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs for the first time in three years.
He set new single-season school records in pass completions (282), attempts (465), yards (3,462), touchdowns (30) and total offense (4,288). Lee also become the first JMU quarterback in history to throw for more than 400 yards in a single game, a feat which he accomplished both at Villanova (406) and at Richmond (455).
Roppert was tabbed Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year after boasting a 3.865 grade-point average, double majoring in computer information systems and business management. He is a two-time President’s List honoree and a three-time Dean’s List honoree. While helping the JMU men’s soccer team capture the 2014 CAA Tournament title, he also developed community service projects for the team on his own.
Okafor garnered Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year after being the recipient of both the 2015 CAA Dean Ehlers Leadership Award and 2015 CAA Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. She was also named to the CAA All-Academic Team, as well as earning JMU Athletic Director Scholar-Athlete status. She holds a 3.426 GPA, majoring in psychology/pre-med. On the court, she was both an All-CAA First Team and All-Defensive Team member and was voted to the CAA All-Tournament Team after helping the Dukes win the 2015 CAA Championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament.
The JMU softball team was also presented with the 2014-15 JMU Community Service Award after compiling an average of 32 hours of service per student-athlete, which contributed to an athletic-department total of more than 3,000 hours of community service over the last year.
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