Baseball player Josh Kauten and former Redbird softball player Abbie Scott were named Illinois State Male and Female Scholar Athletes of the Year on October 26 during the 2003 State Farm Student-Athlete Academic Excellence Banquet.
Both athletes received the honor because of their excellent performances in the classroom and on the field during the 2002-2003 academic term.
Kauten is a senior pitcher who transferred last year from Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Some of his academic achievements at Illinois State include: National Deans List, AFNI Honor Roll, and recipient of the Raymond Fairchild Scholarship. He also was named Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week after playing his first game for the Birds.
The Vinton, Iowa, native said he was shocked and honored when he found out he was the Male Scholar Athlete for Illinois State.
I was shocked at first because there are a lot of other athletes that were just as deserving of the award, Kauten said. I was also pretty nervous giving a speech in front of the entire banquet, but it was a great experience.
Kauten said that his baseball coach at Kirkwood Community College helped him put academics before athletics.
My coach at my junior college always used to say put your books before baseball because if you arent eligible you cant play, said Kauten. I also think that the athletic study center here is awesome. If you dont pass classes then you arent trying.
Kauten is looking at several different options to pursue after this year including possibly continuing baseball or school.
Hopefully, if I am not drafted, I would probably go play independent baseball, Kauten said. Once my career is done I will come back and get my degree in exercise science. I have also thought of coaching baseball or getting my masters in biomechanics and using that to study pitching and the way the body works.
Scott finished her softball career for the Birds last spring but the Macomb, Ill., native is finishing up her degree in Psychology. Among some of her academic achievements are: Bone Scholar recipient, an AFNI Honor Role member, Psychology National Honor Society, and winning the Missouri Valley Conference Presidents and Commissioners Academic Excellence Awards.
The senior said that hard work and the help of others made her successful on and off the field.
I took it upon myself to work hard in school and in softball, Scott said. There were also so many people through the university that helped me. The coaches and faculty really pushed me to do well. I also have to say that my parents have had a huge influence on me. My parents have taught my brother and I that hard work pays off and that our grades were very important.
Scott is engaged to her high school sweetheart and will be getting married this August. She graduates next December and plans on getting a masters degree at Western Illinois University where her fianc is an assistant baseball coach.
I want to go into school psychology and get a specialist degree, Scott said. If I dont get into Western right away I will wait for my fianc to finish graduate school there.
Written by Jolene Harrison, Student Assistant, Athletics Media Relations
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