55 fall sport athletes named finalists for Semoball Awards

Last week we were proud to announce the fall sport finalists for the 2018 Semoball Awards, presented by SoutheastHEALTH.

In all, 55 were nominated as finalists for awards in their respective sports, which will be announced Saturday, July 14 at the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus.

"I think it's a fantastic event, itself," said Cape Girardeau Central boys swimming standout Brogan Davis during the announcement show on SEMO ESPN Radio. "I think even just getting invited is a step up from your average banquet."

The Semoball Awards show, in its fifth year, is a red-carpet event that celebrates outstanding high school athletes in the Southeast Missouri region that covers 57 schools. The awards include player of the year in 19 sports categories, top awards for male and female athletes of the year, comeback athlete of the year, sportsmanship award and scholar athlete awards. We also recognize a coach of the year and a lifetime achievement award.

The athletes are selected by a panel of sports writers from the five major newspaper in Southeast Missouri and broadcasters from SEMO ESPN Radio.

The keynote speaker, a big-name athlete with lots of hardware and a championship pedigree, will be announced in a few weeks. Previous speakers have included: Kyle Maynard, Jennie Finch, Mark Schlereth and David Eckstein.

We're excited as ever to put on the awards show in partnership with presenting sponsor SoutheastHEALTH, The Bank of Missouri (Official Bank Sponsor), SEMO ESPN Radio, the St. Louis Cardinals and rustmedia.

Congratulations to the 55 athletes who were nominated as finalists. And watch the Southeast Missourian and semoball.com as finalists from winter and spring sports are announced.

For a list of the names, visit semoball.com. And you can see highlights from previous years online at semoball.com/awards.

We looking forward to the big event in July.