GSC Announces 2021 Top Ten Honorees
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Gulf South Conference is pleased to announce its 25th annual GSC “Top Ten” Award winners. These awards recognize the top female and top male student-athletes for their athletic, academic, and extracurricular achievement during the 2020-21 academic year. The top male and top female from each group of honorees will be awarded the Commissioner’s Trophy, which is the conference’s most elite award.
The “Top Ten” are selected with the assistance of an advisory committee representing the Athletic Directors, Senior Woman Administrators, Sports Information Directors, Faculty Athletics Representatives, and Presidents from randomly selected GSC schools, which makes a recommendation to the Commissioner, who has the final decision.
The female Top Ten winners are
Berta Bonardi (West Florida, Tennis),
Abby Brooks (Alabama Huntsville, Volleyball),
Meghan Delaney (Union, Volleyball),
Tytavia Hardy (Mississippi College, Track & Field),
Brynne Lytle (Christian Brothers, Basketball), and
Celine Ritter (Lee, Cross Country and Track & Field).
Bonardi is the second straight women's Top Ten student-athlete for the Argos, following Jordyn Poppen (volleyball) last season. Brooks is Alabama's Huntsville's first volleyball honoree since Ellen LaFiore in 2002. Delaney is the third women's selection in Union's history and the school's first volleyball player to earn the recognition. Hardy is the third Lady Choctaw to earn the honor in the last four years, with fellow track athlete Andrea McDonald winning in 2018 and Katie Taylor (soccer) earning the GSC Commissioner's Trophy last season. Lytle is the first woman from CBU to win this award since Gabrielle Pilgrim in 2016. Ritter continues the winning tradition for the Lee women, as she is the fifth straight Lady Flame to earn this award.
The male Top Ten winners are
Andrew Elkins (Auburn Montgomery, Soccer),
Maxi Galizzi (Christian Brothers, Soccer),
Brishen House (Valdosta State, Cross Country),
Sam Orf (Alabama Huntsville, Basketball), and
Michael Zabetakis (West Georgia, Basketball).
Elkins is the first Warhawk, of either gender, to win this award. Galizzi is the first Buc to win this award on the men's side since Trey Casey in 2014. House is the third Blazer in four years to earn this honor, following last year's GSC Commissioner's Trophy winner Clay Guillozet. Orf is the 12th Charger to win the men's award, and this is the third straight year that UAH has had a male winner. Zabetakis is the first men's basketball player from West Georgia to win this award since UWG Hall of Famer Lonnie Edwards back in 1998.
The winners of the GSC Commissioner's Trophies will be announced on Thursday, June 10.