JOHNSON ADDS A REGAL HONOR: OVC MALE ATHLETE OF YEAR

The honors simply keep rolling in for Jeremy Johnson, who recently concluded a record-setting baseball career at Southeast Missouri State University.

Johnson, who two weeks ago was named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year for baseball, received an even higher OVC honor Tuesday when he was named the league's Male Athlete of the Year.

In addition, Johnson has also earned third-team NCAA Division I All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball newspaper.

"It's a great honor and I'm real proud, but it's really a surprise because I never thought a baseball player would get it," said Johnson of being named OVC Male Athlete of the Year.

Johnson is the first baseball player to win the award since 1990. And he's the second person from Southeast to be selected as the OVC Male Athlete of the Year, joining basketball player Bud Eley last year.

There is no denying Johnson's credentials. He batted .408 this season and led the conference with 19 home runs and 61 runs scored. The right fielder from Tamms, Ill., was seventh in the league with 55 runs batted in and he did not commit an error all year defensively.

Johnson holds six school records at Southeast: games played (216), hits (287), runs scored (214), RBIs (184), doubles (65) and at-bats (800). He's also second in career homers, triples, stolen bases and walks.

And Johnson also excels off the field as he earned a 3.5 grade-point average in sports management to earn the school's award for the graduating senior male athlete with the highest cumulative GPA.

"Winning the OVC Male Athlete of the Year and being named an All-American caps off a brilliant career for Jeremy at Southeast," said Southeast coach Mark Hogan. "He rewrote the offensive record books and he's just a class individual on and off the field. He's the epitome of what a student-athlete should be."

Looking back on his career and senior season at Southeast, Johnson said he would have changed little, except for the team advancing a bit further than it did, although the Indians set a school record for wins in going 37-17 before losing in the finals of the OVC Tournament.

"I wish we could have gone further, but it was a good season and this just tops it off," he said. "My career here has been great. I wish I could have topped it off by going to the College World Series, but it's been a great time."

While Johnson's college career is over, his baseball playing days are definitely not. Johnson is almost certain to be selected when major league baseball's amateur draft begins Monday; the only question is how high he'll go.

One national publication has Johnson ranked as the state's ninth-best professional prospect among all draft-eligible players and he appears to stand a solid chance of going in the top 20 rounds of the draft.

"I'm kind of anxious to see what happens," he said. "I've talked to several scouts, but it's hard to really predict what round I might go in. Hopefully I will get drafted. I just hope somebody gives me the chance because I definitely want to try and go play professional baseball."

While Johnson received the OVC's Male Athlete of the Year honor, Tennessee Tech's Diane Seng was named the league's Female Athlete of the Year for the second time in her career.

Seng topped the conference and was 16th nationally in field-goal percentage, with 57.9 percent. She averaged 17.8 points per game, ranking third in the league, and was ninth in rebounds, grabbing 5.8 per game. In addition, she was one of the top players for the Golden Eaglettes' volleyball team.

Johnson and Seng will receive their awards from OVC Commissioner Dan Beebe at the league's honors luncheon Thursday afternoon in Cookeville, Tenn.

* Although it was already known locally, the OVC officially announced Tuesday that Southeast won the league's Women's All-Sports Trophy for a record sixth year in a row.

Southeast captured conference championships in indoor and outdoor track and field and volleyball. The Otahkians finished second in cross country and third in soccer and softball.

"To win the OVC Women's All-Sports Trophy for six straight years is certainly a great achievement for our coaches and female athletes," said Southeast athletic director Don Kaverman. "Southeast has been in the OVC only nine years and has dominated women's championships in six of those nine years."

Middle Tennessee won the men's honor for the fifth year in a row after claiming conference championships in indoor track and field, tennis and golf. The Blue Raiders placed second in baseball and outdoor track. Southeast's men were fifth out of 10 schools.