Liberty League commissioner Tracy King has announced that
Karson Saunders of Union College and
Matt Lecky of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have been named the recipients of the 2022-23 Liberty League Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards.
Established following the 2012-13 academic year, the recipients of the Liberty League Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards are selected in a vote by the Liberty League member institutions. The awards are presented to graduating student-athletes – one female and one male – who have demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics and service/leadership throughout their time as student-athletes. Saunders is the first softball student-athlete and the third nominee from Union College. Lecky is the first men’s cross country / track and field student-athlete and the third honoree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
“I am excited to announce that Karson Saunders and Matt Lecky have been selected as the Liberty League Scholar-Athletes of the Year,” said King. “Karson and Matt represent the very best of the Liberty League and intercollegiate athletics – individuals who have achieved at elite levels academically and athletically while emerging as leaders on their campuses. Both are All-Liberty League performers, have earned national recognition for athletic and academic success and are individuals of great character. It is only fitting that we recognize the dedication and commitment that they have demonstrated to their academic and athletic pursuits over the past four years.”
By virtue of her selection as the Liberty League's Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Saunders will also be the league’s nominee for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award. Saunders and Lecky will also be the league’s nominees for the Division III Student-Athletes of the Year as presented by the Division III Commissioners Association.
Saunders, a three-year starting outfielder at Union, was named an NFCA All-America first-team selection and the Liberty League Player of the Year this past season, leading the conference in batting average (.528), OPS (1.364), slugging percentage (.764), and on-base percentage (.600). She went 56-for-106 at the plate and scored a team-best 41 runs, while driving in 26 runs, stealing 22 bases and walking 19 times. Saunders recorded a hit in 31 of her 35 games this season, including 17 multi-hit outings, all while reaching base in 33 of the 35 contests this season for Union, and her .528 batting average is the highest by a conference player since the start of the Liberty League in 1995-96. On the national level, Saunders is tied for fourth in Division III in batting average and is third in on-base percentage this year.
This season, Saunders set Union single-season records for batting average, on-base percentage and stolen bases, while also ranking third in runs scored and walks, sixth in slugging percentage and seventh in hits. In three years, Saunders ranks third all-time in batting average (.452); second in slugging percentage (.726), on-base percentage (.516) and stolen bases (42); and seventh in home runs (14) at Union.
Saunders was recognized as the top student-athlete in NCAA Division III softball for the 2023 season by earning Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year honors as selected by the College Sports Communicators (CSC).
Saunders, who also was named to the Academic All-America first team, is the first player in Union history to be named an Academic All-America Team Member of the Year and only the eighth in Liberty League history in any sport. At Union, Saunders is just the second female student-athlete to earn Academic All-America first-team honors and the second to receive multiple Academic All-America honors.
Off the field, the sociology and English double major has been just as impressive: she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, has a 4.00 GPA and was named a Co-Valedictorian of the Senior Class. She has been inducted into no fewer than five different honor societies, including Sigma Tau Delta (English), Iota Iota Iota (Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies), Alpha Kappa Delta (Sociology), Omicron Delta Kappa (Leadership), and Order of Omega (Greek). She has served as Vice Chair of the school's Honor Council, worked as a tutor in the Writing Center and a peer mentor with the Accommodative Services Office, and been a contributing writer to the Sociology Department newsletter. At Prize Day last month, Karson earned the David Brind (1982) Memorial Prize in English, given to an outstanding senior student in English, and the Daniel F. Pullman Classical Prize, given to a senior of high scholastic standing in humanities.
Lecky, a senior distance runner, earned four All-America citations this past year, including one in cross country, two in indoor track, and one in outdoor. He was 11th at the national cross country meet in the fall, seventh in the 3,000 meters at the Division III Indoor Championship and part of the fifth-place indoor distance medley relay squad in March. Lecky went on to place third in the nation in the outdoor 1,500 to give him seven career All-America honors, which is second in school history. A captain who set numerous school records, he was the Liberty League Runner of the Year in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track, repeating in cross country and indoor. He was also the Mideast Region Male Track Athlete of the Year in indoor as selected by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
A chemistry major with a 3.96 cumulative grade point average, Lecky was also selected to the Academic All-America men’s track & field/cross country first team as chosen by CSC. It marked the second time that he was selected to the first team. A multiple Liberty League All-Academic and Dean's Honor List honoree, Lecky was a member of Phi Lambda Upsilon, Rensselaer's chemistry honor society and represented the cross country and track and field teams on the school’s student-athlete advisory committee (SAAC).
At RPI, Lecky sought out opportunities to experience lab work, joining a research lab studying bacteria, where he worked as part of a team to study the interactions between humans and their gut microbiome. He also interned at Dyno Nobel Inc.
Liberty League Scholar-Athletes of the Year
2022-23
Karson Saunders, Union College, Softball
Matt Lecky, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Cross Country / Track & Field
2021-22
Julia Keogh, William Smith College, Soccer
Ryan Puglisi, Union College, Lacrosse
2020-21
Mekayla Montgomery, William Smith College, Lacrosse
Walker Anderson, Hobart College, Tennis
2019-20
Sophie Nick, Vassar College, Women's Basketball
Garrett Renslow, University of Rochester, Baseball
2018-19
Monica Feeley, Vassar College, Field Hockey
Edvinas Rupkus, Skidmore College, Basketball
2017-18
Taryn Cordani, Ithaca College, Cross Country / Track & Field
Matthew Knigge, Vassar College, Volleyball
2016-17
Caroline Conboy, William Smith College, Swimming & Diving
Kent Curran, Union College, Baseball
2015-16
Tara Lamberti, University of Rochester, Field Hockey
Jamie Jackson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Men's Golf
2014-15
Madeline Buckley, William Smith College, Soccer
John Coleman, Clarkson University, Basketball / Baseball
2013-14
Olivia Zitoli, William Smith College, Soccer
Richie Bonney, Hobart College, Basketball
2012-13
Emily D'Addario, William Smith College, Cross Country
Adam Updegrove, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Soccer / Swimming & Diving