ETSU’s Ege, Furman’s Morgan named SoCon Athletes of the Year

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman golfer Anna Morgan has been named the 2023-24 Southern Conference Female Athlete of the Year and ETSU golfer Mats Ege has been voted the Bob Waters Southern Conference Male Athlete of the Year, the league announced Monday.

The Athlete of the Year Awards are selected annually by the Southern Conference athletics directors and a media member representing each conference school. The award recognizes athletic achievement, academic performance and civic involvement. Prior to 1990-91, the award was selected solely by members of the Southern Conference Sports Media Association. Beginning in 1991-92, the men's award was named after the late Bob Waters, who was Western Carolina's head football coach from 1969-88.

Morgan is the first SoCon woman to earn three consecutive honors, claiming the Paladins’ 13th SoCon Female Athlete of the Year honor. Morgan is Furman’s fifth straight SoCon Female Athlete of the Year, following former teammate Natalie Srinivasan, who won in 2019-20 and went on to play on the Epson Tour, and professional Adidas runner Gabbi Jennings, who claimed the honor in 2020-21.

The Spartanburg, South Carolina, native led the league in stroke average for the third straight season with a 70.1 mark over 33 rounds, which is the lowest single-season stroke average in program history, en route to being named the SoCon Player of the Year for the third straight season. Morgan posted seven top-5 finishes in 11 tournaments, including being the medalist at the SoCon Championship for the second straight time. She also competed in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur for the third year in a row.

Furman’s Edna Hartness Female Athlete of the Year for the third straight year, Morgan earned All-SoCon honors for the fourth straight season. Morgan finished the season ranked No. 17 nationally and will represent the United States at the Arnold Palmer Cup this summer. She was a five-time SoCon Player of the Week in 2023-24, extending her league-record to 13 selections, and was the SoCon Player of the Month five times, bringing her career total to nine.

Off the golf course, Morgan graduated with a 3.6 GPA in politics and international affairs. She is a member of the Lambda Pi Eta honor society for communications studies and was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team and WGCA All-America Scholar Team. Morgan is also a member of Kappa Delta sorority, which raised money for the Julie Valentine Center, a nonprofit that provides services to sexual assault and child abuse survivors. Morgan also worked with local Girl Scout troops through Kappa Delta.

Ege is ETSU’s third winner of the Bob Waters SoCon Male Athlete of the Year award and the first Buccaneer to claim the award since B.J. Adigun in 1997-98.

Ege was named SoCon Player of the Year for the second time this season. The Kristiansand, Norway, native became the Bucs’ sixth PING First Team All-American this season and was named to the Ben Hogan Watch List and a finalist for the Haskins Award. Ege, who was the medalist at the SoCon Championship for the second straight year, finished the season ranked No. 9 nationally.

A two-time winner of SoCon Player of the Week, Ege produced a scoring average of 69.25, which set a single-season program record. Ege registered 33 sub-par rounds and played the holes at 86-under-par. In October, Ege set a school, tournament and course record with a 10-under-par 62 in the opening round of the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate. He finished that event at 16-under-par 200, marking the second-lowest 54-hole total in program history.

The ETSU Male Athlete of the Year graduated with a degree in Management in May 2024, finishing with a 3.45 GPA. Ege earned a SoCon Commissioner’s Medal in 2022-23 and was a three-time SoCon Honor Roll recipient. He was named SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week twice during the 2023-24 school year.

In the community, Ege assisted with several community service events, including helping at Bucky’s Boo Bash where members of ETSU men’s golf team dressed up and passed out candy to children in the Tri-Cities Area. He also participated in a kids clinic at Town Acres Elementary School.