The University of Akron Athletics
Jackson, Sharrits Earn MAC Medal of Excellence Awards
June 07 | Men's Basketball, Women's Volleyball
Jackson, Sharrits Earn MAC Medal of Excellence Awards
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Full MAC Release
CLEVELAND, Ohio – A pair of University of Akron standouts in men's basketball graduate Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) and volleyball senior libero Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) were honored as 2021 Mid-American Conference Medal of Excellence Award winners, the MAC announced on Monday.
Twenty-four MAC student-athletes were selected as Medal of Excellence Award winners for the 2020-21 academic year as the award is presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each of the 12 Conference member institutions.
"The individuals selected for the Medal of Excellence have distinguished themselves academically, athletically, and through demonstrated service and leadership, said MAC Commissioner, Jon A. Steinbrecher. "These men and women have earned this award by putting in long hours of dedication, perseverance and hard work. I congratulate those selected and thank them for their contributions to their institution and the Conference."
Jackson led the MAC in scoring during regular season play with 21.62 points per game and ranked second in the MAC in assists with 6.29 per game. He was a first-team All-MAC selection, collected first-team NABC All-District 14 accolades, was a member of the 2020-21 Lou Henson All-America Team, won the State Farm Men's 3-Point Championship and followed with a win in the Rocket Mortgage Battle of Champions at the 2021 State Farm College Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships.
Jackson guided the Zips to a No. 3 seed for the 2021 MAC Tournament and scored in double figures in 22-of-23 games and totaled 512 points on 40.5 percent (164-of-405) shooting from the field and 33.1 percent (58-of-175) from beyond the 3-point arc with five 30-plus point performances. Jackson notched three double-doubles in points and assists this season and ranked third in the league in free throw percentage (87.8; 115-of-131).
Jackson ranks No. 6 in all-time scoring at Akron with 1,587 points and 5th all-time in assists 381 in 87 games played. For his career Jackson scored 1,783 total points and dished out 433 assists. He was the only player in NCAA DI this year to average 20+ points and 6+ assists per game.
In the national rankings, Jackson finished regular season play ranked ninth in points per game (21.6) and assists per game (6.3), 14th in total assists (132), 18th in free throws made (115), 26th in total points (454), 27th in free throw percentage (87.8), 31st in field goals attempted (346), 46th in free throw attempts (131), 69th in 3-point field goal attempts (156), 75th in field goals made (143), 80th in assist to turnover ratio (2.13), 80th in 3-point field goals per game (2.52), 87th in 3-point field goal percentage (34.0), 88th in minutes per game (34:4) and 109th in 3-point field goals made (53). Jackson earned the #LuteOlsonAward National Player of the Week award along with two MAC Player of the Week honors.
Sharrits was named 2020-21 MAC Defensive Player of the Year and second-team All-MAC, marking the first time in program history an Akron women's volleyball player claimed the MAC's top defensive honor.
In 90 sets played this season (22 matches), Sharrits anchored the Zips' defense with a career-high 535 total digs and 5.94 digs per set. Sharrits finished regular season play ranking No. 1 in the NCAA in total digs and No. 5 in the nation in digs per set. After the NCAA women's volleyball championships, Sharrits completed the season ranked No. 2 in total digs and No. 6 in digs per set.
She led the MAC in both categories and rewrote Akron's record book in digs and digs per set, moving to eighth all-time in single-season dig performances, while claiming the best single-season digs per set performance in program history.
Sharrits registered 20 or more digs in 15 matches this season with six performances delivering 30-plus digs, including a career-best 41 digs against Toledo in the Zips' final match victory. That performance ranks third all-time at Akron.
Sharrits earned two MAC Defensive Player of the Week honors (3/1 and 3/15) and posted a .958 reception percentage, converting 346 receptions in 361 attempts and committing only 15 receiving errors. She added 67 assists and 15 service aces this season.
To date, Sharrits owns 1,883 career digs in 399 sets played (105 matches), which ranks third all-time at Akron.
To be honored with the Medal of Excellence Award, student-athletes had to participate on the varsity level in a Conference sponsored sport and shown evidence of academic success with a minimum 3.50 accumulative grade-point average, exhibited athletics excellence, leadership and service.
2021 Medal of Excellence Award Winners
Akron:
Loren Christian Jackson, Men's Basketball, Chicago, Ill. (Victory Rock Prep)
Taylor Sharrits, Volleyball, Concord, Ohio (Lake Catholic)
Ball State:
Chris Adams, Tennis, Port Huron, Mich. (Port Huron Northern)
Ivy McKee, Track and Field, Columbus, Ohio (Gahanna Lincoln)
Bowling Green:
Chris Sullivan, Men's Soccer, Naperville, Ill. (North/Illinois Galaxy)
Madison McCoy, Softball, Washington, Ill. (Washington)
Buffalo:
Jack Klenk, Football, Pittsford, N.Y. (Pittsford Sutherland)
Hanna Hall, Women's Basketball, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (Lincoln Prep)
Central Michigan:
Bernhard Raimann, Football, Steinbrunn, Austria (Delton-Kellogg)
Brianna Hart, Lacrosse, South Bend, Ind. (Saint Joseph)
Eastern Michigan:
Michael Monahan, Baseball, Saline, Mich. (Saline)
Graysen Simmons, Track and Field, Huber Heights, Ohio (Wayne)
Kent State:
Ben Carew, Baseball, Appleton, Wisc. (Kimberly)
Kennadie Goth, Softball, Shelby, Ohio (Shelby)
Miami:
Sean Torpy, Cross Country/Track and Field, Orland Park, Ill. (Carl Sandburg)
Abigail Huser, Volleyball, Westfield, Ind. (Westfield)
Northern Illinois:
Mason Kauffman, Wrestling, Stratford, Wis. (Stratford)
Zoie Schroeder, Gymnastics, Champlin, Minn. (Champlin Park)
Ohio:
Ben Vander Plas, Men's Basketball, Ripon, Wis. (Ripon)
Ashleigh Kitrell, Track and Field, Oakland, Neb. (Oakland Craig Senior)
Toledo:
Chris Meyers, Baseball, Miamisburg, Ohio (Miamisburg)
Emma Sampson, Swimming & Diving, Mount Sterling, Ohio (Madison-Plains)
Western Michigan:
Jannik Opitz, Tennis, Hildesheim, Germany (Josephinum Hildesheim)
Rachel Bontrager, Volleyball, Valparaiso, Ind. (Valparaiso)
Players Mentioned
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