MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State women's golf's MacKenzie Neal and rifle's Bryce Ward have earned perhaps the Ohio Valley Conferences' top academic and civic honor- the OVC Scholar-Athlete Award - for the 2021-22 year.
Only six student-athletes (three female, three male) are chosen each year from the thousands of student-athletes in the league. The award recognizes their accomplishments in both the classroom and athletic arena, and because of their leadership qualities.
"The team and I are incredibly proud of MacKenzie. Her efforts in the classroom, on the course, and in the community can be counted on to be among the highest of all the women in college athletics," Head coach Stephanie Barker said.
A native of Richmond, Ky., Neal is in her fourth year with the Morehead State women's golf team, serving as captain and leading the Eagles to a second place finish at the 2022 OVC Championship.
In 2021-22, she finished the season tied for third in the conference in stroke average (75.6), tallying a pair of top-5 finishes and being named All-OVC for the second straight season.
In the classroom, she has a perfect 4.0 grade point average in biomedical science/pre-med. She has also earned multiple OVC Academic Medal of Honor awards, in addition to being named to the MSU Dean's List, as well as being selected as an All-American Scholar by the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA).
She is also a member of the MSU Pre-Medicine Club, serving as the Officer of Finance, and is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
She has also volunteered for numerous activities, including raising money for eastern Kentucky flood victims and volunteering at elementary schools, while also participating in the Southeast AHEC STEPS program which is designed for pre-med students pursuing careers in medicine in Kentucky.
"Not only is MacKenzie a true example of an elite student-athlete, she is a wonderful individual and teammate. MacKenzie is very deserving of this honor. We couldn't be more proud," Barker added.
A native of Hurricane, W. Va., Ward is in his fourth year with the Morehead State rifle team, serving as a team captain.
In 2021-22, he was first on the team in combined score and established a school record for Smallbore score (589-35x). He earned First-Team All-OVC Honors in Smallbore and Second-Team honors in Air Rifle.
"Bryce is an excellent example of a student-athlete," said head coach Alan Joseph. "He is a team leader and a leader on our campus. I am very proud of him. I am also proud that our program has earned five total Scholar-Athletes with four of our recent students earning the award."
In the classroom, he completed his degree in accounting in spring 2022, graduating summa cum laude with a 3.9 grade point average. He is currently pursuing an MBA. Ward has earned multiple OVC Academic Medal of Honors and MSU Dean's List awards.
Ward earned the Eagle Elite Award, an award voted by fellow student-athletes that is given to someone who exemplifies true MSU pride and spirit. He currently serves as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President and is also an officer with the Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society and the Phi Beta Lambda Future Business Leaders of America.
Ward has volunteered with numerous organizations, including the Second Harvest Food Bank, Reading Across America and Build-A-Bed.
