CLEVELAND, Ohio – Former UAH men’s basketball student-athlete Tommy Murr and former Lee women’s tennis student-athlete Ashleigh Simes were named the 2024-25 South Region Scholar-Athletes of Year as voted and announced by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA).
The NCAA Division II South Region is comprised of three leagues–Gulf South Conference, Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and Sunshine State Conference (SSC).
Murr, who graduated from UAH last spring, earned a degree in business management and posted a 3.67 grade point average. He had standout season averaging 20.8 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from three-point range, and led all Division II men’s players in free throw percentage, shooting 93.8 percent. The graduate guard also logged 4.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per contest
As a result, Murr reeled in several awards including GSC Player of the Year, was a consensus all-America team selection, a finalist for the Small College Basketball Bevo Francis Award and participated in the NABC Senior All-Star Game. The guard also helped UAH to an overall 32-2 record, winning both the GSC regular season and tournament titles
Simes had a season to remember, finishing with a a 23-3 overall singles record, with a 15-2 mark in dual competition while playing exclusively at the No. 1 position. As a result, she was the ITA”s top-ranked Division II singles player for the entire spring season and led the Lady Flames to their first-ever NCAA postseason.
In addition, the native from Canberra, Australia hauled in several individual awards such as Honda D2 Tennis Athlete of the Year, ITA DII Singles Champion, ITA Sportsmanship Award, ITA All-American, ITA Senior of the Year, GSC Commissioner’s Trophy, and GSC Player of the Year. Simes graduated from Lee in May with bachelor’s in business administration and posted a 3.62 GPA.
Conference offices were permitted to submit one male and one female nominee for the overall awards. Upon receipt of all nominees, voting was conducted by the commissioners within each of the following regions – Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, Southeast, South Central and West – to select the following regional winners.
Each of the winners advanced to the national ballot for consideration for the 2024-25 Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
2024-25 D2CCA Region Winners
Men’s Recipients
Atlantic: Brayden Long, Slippery Rock (Football)*
Central: Jake Dugger, Harding (Football)
East: Sean Walsh, Molloy (Baseball)
Midwest: Cedric Buessing, Indianapolis (Swimming & Diving)
South: Tommy Murr, UAH (Basketball)
Southeast: Jack Browder, Carson-Newman (Basketball)
South Central: Brevin McCool, Lubbock Christian (Baseball)
West: Laurenz Waldbauer, Northwest Nazarene (Track & Field)
Women’s Recipients
Atlantic: Anna Igims, Slippery Rock (Cross Country/Track & Field)
Central: Katie (Wagner) DeGarmo, Fort Hays State (Basketball)
East: Brynn King, Roberts Wesleyan (Track & Field)*
Midwest: Mary Kelly Mulcahy, Findlay (Golf)
South: Ashleigh Simes, Lee (Tennis)
Southeast: Avery Williams, Columbus State (Soccer)
South Central: Grace Foster, Lubbock Christian (Basketball)
West: Madison Murr, Cal State San Marcos (Golf)
* named D2CCA National Scholar-Athlete of the Year