GAC Communications
Eric Moyer, Associate Commissioner for Communications
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – A pair of senior All-Americans claimed the 2019-20 Great American Conference Athlete of the Year honors, the conference office announced on Thursday. Southern Nazarene’s Jhonathan Dunn received Male Athlete of the Year while Oklahoma Baptist’s Kim Moosbacher captured Female Athlete of the Year.
The league’s sports information directors voted on the Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards; they could not vote for their own student-athletes.
2019-20 GAC MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – JHONATHAN DUNN, SOUTHERN NAZARENE, BASKETBALL | VIDEO
Dunn became the first two-time men’s basketball Player of the Year in league history as the Crimson Storm won a third-straight regular-season title and qualified for a third-straight NCAA Tournament. He set GAC single-season records for points, points per game, 20-point and 30-point games. He scored at least 20 points in 26 of the Crimson Storm’s 32 games
He established GAC career records for points and made field goals. He became the first GAC men’s player to reach the 2,000-point milestone. He finished the season ranked third among active Division II players in scoring with 2,359 points.
DII Bulletin named him the first First-Team All-American in league history. He added D2CCA All-America honors and became a three-time D2CCA and NABC All-Region selection. He joined teammate Micah Speight and East Central’s Camron Talley as the GAC’s first three-time First-Team All-GAC honorees.
He joined Arkansas Tech’s Johnnie Davis (2011-12) as the only basketball players named GAC Male Athlete of the Year. In matching the feat set by Crimson Storm All-American golfer Michael Hearne in 2015, Southern Nazarene became the first GAC school to produce two Male Athlete of the Year recipients.
Other nominees for the 2019-20 GAC Male Athlete of the Year award included Arkansas Tech sophomore Francois Jacobs (Golf), Arkansas-Monticello senior KJ Lesure (Basketball), East Central’s Talley, Harding junior Cole Chancey (Football), Henderson State senior Mercardo Anderson (Football), Northwestern Oklahoma State senior Maurice Wright, Jr. (Football), Oklahoma Baptist junior Preston Haire (Football), Ouachita senior Allie Freeman (Football/Basketball), Southeastern Oklahoma State senior Kevin Buckingham (Basketball), Southern Arkansas junior Antonio Washington (Football) and Southwestern Oklahoma State senior Alex Bedard (Basketball).
2019-20 GAC FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – KIM MOOSBACHER, OKLAHOMA BAPTIST, TENNIS | VIDEO
Moosbacher made GAC history as she became the first tennis player – men’s or women’s – to garner one of the league’s year-end awards. Earlier in the spring, she received the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Senior Player of the Year honor.
At the time of the spring shutdown, Moosbacher owned a 20-2 record in singles competition. She won the ITA Regional Title in the fall without dropping a single set at the tournament. She reached as high as No. 4 in the country in the ITA rankings and she finished inside the top 10 for the second-straight year as she became a two-time ITA All-American. She owned the top spot in the Central Region rankings.
She holds school records for career wins (81), combined wins in a season (49), singles wins in a season (24) and doubles wins in a season (25). She claimed the GAC’s Player of the Year honor in 2019 and made the All-GAC First Team in consecutive years. She helped the Lady Bison win the 2018 GAC regular-season and tournament titles and land the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Off the court, she added the ITA Scholar-Athlete award to her résumé.
Other nominees for the 2019-20 GAC Female Athlete of the Year award included Arkansas Tech sophomore Jacqueline Klemm (Golf), Arkansas-Monticello senior Berniezha Tidwell (Basketball), East Central senior Anna Mora (Cross Country/Track & Field), Harding junior Carissa Caples (Basketball), Henderson State senior Hailey Estes (Basketball), Northwestern Oklahoma State junior Bailey Brown (Basketball), Ouachita junior Jorie Beaumont (Cross Country/Track & Field), Southeastern Oklahoma State senior Katie Webb (Basketball), Southern Arkansas junior Carley Hale (Cross Country/Track & Field) and Southern Nazarene senior Bailee Turang (Volleyball).