GREENVILLE, S.C. – Barton College's
Jacob Oliver has named the 2025-26 Conference Carolinas SAAC Male Student-Athlete of the Year. SAAC is the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Belmont Abbey's Ellie Ripchik was selected as the league's female student-athlete of the year.
Oliver, a graduate student from Winchester, Va., is a member of the Bulldogs' men's cross country and track and field teams and served as Barton's SAAC Vice President this year.
The Student-Athlete Advisory Council Student-Athlete of the Year (one male and one female) is voted and awarded each April with the award being recognized again at the in-person SAAC meeting each
September. Nominees must be a member of Conference Carolinas SAAC. The winners are voted on by each campus SAAC.
Previous Winners
2025-26: Female: Ellie Ripchik, Belmont Abbey Softball;
Male: Jacob Oliver, Barton Men's Track & Field
2024-25: Female: Ioanna Katoudi, Barton Women's Tennis;
Male: Zach Cramer, Belmont Abbey Men's Volleyball
2023-24: Female: Avery Congleton, Mount Olive Field Hockey;
Male: Clayton Zimmerman, Belmont Abbey Men's Volleyball
