Bulldog pitcher named SEC's top scholar-athlete

For the fifth time this decade, a Mississippi State athlete has been singled out for top scholar-athlete honors in the Southeastern Conference.

Jackson

Junior pitcher Jeremy Jackson of Meridian is the recipient of the SEC's H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award for 1997-98.

Jackson and University of South Carolina volleyball player Shani Abshier, the SEC's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, were selected for top league honors by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from the 12 SEC schools. Each athlete receives a $10,000 post-graduate scholarship.

Jackson becomes the fifth Mississippi State athlete to receive the prestigious SEC Scholar-Athlete Award since 1990. Previous recipients have included Burke Masters (baseball, 1990), Aimee York (volleyball, 1993), Tammy Newlon (women's basketball, 1994), and April Ecke (cross-country, 1995).

Jackson, who earned his fourth varsity letter in his third year as a starting pitcher, has posted a 22-7 overall career record at Mississippi State, and led the 1998 team with an 9-2 record (as of May 27).

Jackson compiled a 9-4 record on Mississippi State's 1997 NCAA College World Series team, earning Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week honors after a career-best 15-strikeout game against top-ranked LSU. He was later selected by the New York Mets in the 1997 June draft.

A first-team GTE-CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1997, Jackson has earned President's Scholar status with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in microbiology in each of his eight semesters at Mississippi State. He qualified for his third inclusion on the SEC Baseball Academic Honor Roll in 1998, has been honored as the recipient of the Carroll and Frances Newsom Award as MSU's top student-athlete in baseball, and twice has won the Halbrook Award as Mississippi State's top male student-athlete.

Jackson, active in the MSU chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Baptist Student Union, has worked as a volunteer at youth baseball clinics at Starkville elementary schools. He is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, the Golden Key National Honor Society, and the Beta Beta Beta Honor Society, and was inducted into the Society of Scholars of the College of Arts and Sciences.

He plans to pursue a career in sports medicine and enter medical school following his undergraduate career.

Farris

A second Mississippi State athlete, Lady Bulldog basketball guard Stacie Farris of Haleyville, Ala., was among 10 other student-athletes from the SEC awarded $5,000 post-graduate scholarships.

Farris was the second leading scorer (10.8 ppg) on Mississippi State's 1997-98 Lady Bulldog basketball team, which earned a berth in the 1998 Women's National Invitational Tournament. She concluded her career as the school's second leading three-point shooter. A three-time SEC Basketball Academic Honor Roll selection, Farris earned the Budget AwardsPlus Sportsmanship Award, the Newsom Award as the top student-athlete on the Lady Bulldog basketball team, and the G.T. Thames Award for Christian leadership.

She plans to teach and coach after graduation, before eventually entering dental school.