Trojan athletes from football, basketball, softball and baseball were honored at the MDCC Trojans Athletic Banquet. Each sport was represented by its respective head coach with MDCC Athletics Director Jason Conner capping the ceremony. The following athletes received awards.
Cheer:
Most Valuable Athlete – Andi Blair Thomas
Best Tumbler – Zyamarieiona Hammond
Best Crowd Leader – Kaniyah Hughes
Most Improved – Charlesha Johnson
Most Coachable – Hallie Hamlin
Dance:
Most Valuable Athlete – Farrah Kate Howie
Most Coachable – Keleigh Jo Stigall
Most Outstanding Performer – Kiya Brown
Most Dependable – Tamya Robinson
Football:
Offensive MVP – Daniel Hall
Defensive MVP – Darryon Taylor
Special Team MVP – Cedrick Hunt
Iron Trojan – Ja'Bryis Stewart
Academic – ZaBauri Chandler
Men's Basketball:
Most Outstanding Player – Daivion Traylor
Mr. Hustle Award – Bralyn Mayfield
Most Improved Player Award – Jacorian Smith
Rookie of the Year Award – Andrew Mancell
Sixth Man of the Year Award – Robert Pete Millender
Baseball:
Pitcher of the Year – Kevin Hill
Freshman of the Year – Cristian Bridges
Offensive Player of the Year – Cristian Bridges
Defensive Player of the Year – Avery Rodgers
Trojan "Effort" Award – Avery Rogers
Lady Trojans Softball:
MVP – Bre Ruffin
Most Outstanding Player – Zariah Wells
Best Defensive Player – Allie Johnson
Lady Trojan Award – Ella McCain
Spark Plug – Takiya Shaw
The J.D. Stonestreet Memorial Trophy, named after math instructor and football coach J.D. Stonestreet, who coached and taught here at Sunflower Junior College and Mississippi Delta Junior College from 1954 to 1963 was given annually to the top male (only) student-athlete starting in 1966. AD Conner brought the award back last year after a two-decade pause. The award is now open to all male and female MDCC athletes.
AD Conner explained, “The award is for a graduating sophomore student athlete that must epitomize the very best of being a teammate, and you may ask, what is a teammate? I found this in my coaching notes from a book I read in the late ‘80s and I apologize for not knowing who said it but I thought the words were fitting and very good to ponder this evening. ‘A teammate is a person you can absolutely count on to maintain your positive attitude in the face of adversity. Someone who reaches out with a loyal hand and grabs hold of your battered soul and lifts it off the ground. Who wipes the blood from your nose and shakes the dust of failure from your clothes and whispers in your ear, Get back in the fight!’ I trust these words will make all of us a better teammate.”
Other requirements include:
• A young man or young woman has to have tremendous character.
• Must have affected their team and MDCC in a positive, impactful way.
AD Conner explained what “tremendous character” means.
“Here are some things to consider – Having a strong character means making decisions based on a set of core values that a person tends to already have. This means that you are disciplined, ambitious, resilient, persistent, conscientious, loyal, honorable (integrity), humble, honest, flexible, courageous, patient, compassionate, and creative. Character is different than personality; it refers to a person’s moral and ethical qualities. Character consists of beliefs and moral principles that will guide an individual’s life in all they do and say.”
The J.D. Stonestreet Memorial Trophy was awarded to women’s basketball player Lauren Nelson, who had an overall 3.58 grade point average.
Women's basketball received a plaque that is in the JT Hall Coliseum trophy case:
2025 Region 23 Runner Up.
Also acknowledged on MDCC’s Honors Day was the graduating sophomore with the best GPA – Trojan Award winner, men’s basketball player – Daivion Traylor with a 3.76 GPA. The Lady Trojan Award went to cheer team’s Andi Blair Thomas who has a 3.70 GPA.
