Spencer Nelson Named Mid-Major Player of the Year/Women's Basketball Gives Team Awards

April 5, 2005

LOGAN, Utah — Utah State’s men’s basketball standout Spencer Nelson was named the mid-major Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com it was announced on Tuesday [April 5] after leading the Aggies to a 24-8 record and the school’s fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last six years.

Twenty-one conferences are classified as “mid-major” by CollegInsider.com and all mid-major awards are voted on by staff members.

“I feel very fortunate to have coached Spencer,” said USU head coach Stew Morrill. “He is the total package! In 19 years as a Division I head coach, I’ve never had a better leader. He’s an excellent student, a first-class teammate, and obviously a very talented player. Spencer possesses the type of character that you wish you could bottle up and pass on to everyone in your program. He is very deserving of this tremendous honor.”

Nelson, a 6-8 senior forward from Pocatello, Idaho, averaged 16.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, and shot 60.0 percent from the field and 78.7 percent from the free throw line. Nelson finished the year ranked first in the Big West Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.92), second in rebounding and field goal percentage, third in scoring and assists, and fifth in free throw percentage.

“He is a dynamic player,” said CollegeInsider.com’s Matt Drake. “He can beat you with a jumper and he can beat you off the dribble. He can beat you on the glass and he can beat you with great ability to pass the basketball. He has outstanding court vision. The kid is a winner in every sense of the word.”

Nelson was also named a mid-major All-American by CollegeInsider.com, along with receiving Player of the Year accolades. Other honors received by Nelson during his senior season include being named a first-team all-Big West selection, a Big West all-tournament team selection, the league’s Hustle Player of the Year for the third consecutive season, and a member of the United States Basketball Writer’s All-District VIII team.

During the 2004-05 campaign, Nelson become just the 40th player in school history to score 500 points in a single-season and his 152 assists on the year ranked as the seventh-most in a single-season at Utah State. Furthermore, Nelson was the only player in the country during the course of the season to average at least 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.

Women's Basketball Gives Out Team Awards At Annual Banquet

During the banquet the Aggies handed out awards which were voted on by team members.

April 6, 2005

LOGAN, Utah — Utah State’s women’s basketball team held its second annual postseason banquet Wednesday evening [April 6], honoring the 2004-05 team which posted a 14-14 record, falling just one win shy of tripling its win total from a year ago (5-22). The 14 wins marked the most wins by an Aggie team since the 1978-79 team went 14-10, a span of 10 playable seasons.

Utah State's women’s basketball program was discontinued following the end of the 1987 due to budget cuts, it was then resurrected and played its first season in 16 years during 2003-04.

During the banquet the Aggies handed out awards which were voted on by team members. They also recognized their three honorable mention all-Big West selections (Ali Aird, Taylor Richards, Brittany Tressler), as well as their Big West all-freshman team honoree (Richards).

Utah State also recognized two players who received Player of the Week honors during the season (Christina Zdenek, Aird), as well as five players who were named to the Big West Conference all-academic team (Aird, Jessica Freeman, Brittany Hagen, Tressler, Zdenek).

Jessica Freeman, a junior post from St. George, Utah, was voted both the team Spark Plug and its Defensive Player of the Year. Freeman became USU’s career shot block leader this past season as she swatted a team-high 48 shots, surpassing Jill Swainston (1987, 70) for the top spot on the list. Freeman finished fourth on the team in scoring at 8.1 points per game and was second in rebounding, averaging 6.3 boards per game.

Ashley Rutledge and Camille Brox were selected co-winners of the team’s Most Improved award. Rutledge, a junior guard from Hyrum, Utah, started seven of the 21 games she played in, averaging 1.3 points and one rebound a game. Brox, a sophomore guard from Lakeview Terrace, Calif., averaged 22.3 minutes per game this season and started 23 of USU’s 28 games. Last year she averaged just less than 14 minutes in four starts.

Brittany Tressler, a sophomore from Orem, Utah, was named the Offensive Player of the Year. Despite starting just seven games in 2005, Tressler led Utah State in scoring at 11.2 points per game. Her scoring average ranked 14th in the conference, while she was second in three-point field goal percentage at 42.7 and seventh in free-throw percentage (78.9).

Utah State’s Strength and Conditioning award went to freshman Taylor Richards. A 5-4 guard from West Valley City, Utah, Richards led the team in minutes played at 31.4 per game and was just one of two players to start every game for the Aggies this past season. Richards also led the team in both assists (108) and steals (50) and was second in scoring at 10.3 points per game.

Christina Zdenek was presented with two awards as she walked away with the Excellence in the Classroom and Varsity awards. The Varsity award is a Big Blue Club recognition given to a player that excels both on and off the court. Last season as a freshman, Zdenek started 26 of 27 and was second on the team in scoring at 12 points per game. She also led the Aggies in steals with 37 and tied for the team lead in assists, dishing-out 44. This past season as a sophomore, Zdenek was asked to play a different role for the team as she came off the bench in all 28 of USU’s games. Despite coming off the bench, she averaged the fifth-most minutes on the team at 23.5 per game. She was also fifth on the team in scoring at 7.8 points per game and became just the second current Aggie to reach 500 career points (543), 219 of which came this past season. Off the court Zdenek is involved in Aggie Ambassadors, Utah State’s student-athlete outreach program and has sat in on the Student Advisory Committee. While accomplishing all of this, she has managed to maintain a team-high GPA of 3.75 and has aspirations of becoming a veterinarian.

Anne-Marie Torp rounded out the player awards by garnering the Most Inspirational award. Torp redshirted and had to undergo heart surgery last December. She is scheduled to have additional heart surgery sometime in May.

Other awards given out were the Couldn’t Have Done It Without You and Fan Support awards. Strength and conditioning coach Frank Wintrich nabbed the Couldn’t Have Done It Without You award, while Karen Hamilton and Lauren Dance grabbed the Fan Support awards. Hamilton always keeps a book of articles covering the team throughout the year and then makes copies for each player, while Dance helped raise money for the team’s Australia trip.

Utah State Team Honors

Spark Plug & Defensive Player of the Year - Jessica Freeman

Most Improved - Ashley Rutledge, Camille Brox

Most Inspirational - Anne-Marie Torp

Offensive Player of the Year - Brittany Tressler

Strength and Conditioning - Taylor Richards

Excellence in the Classroom - Christina Zdenek

Fan Support - Karen Hamilton, Lauren Dance

Couldn’t Have Done It Without You - Frank Wintrich

Big Blue Club

Varsity Award - Christina Zdenek

All-Big West Selections