2016 TTU Athletics Year in Review: Byrd’s record-breaking day helps Tech football clinch third-place finish in OVC

January 4 & March 31

Satterfield, Rosamond selected to lead football, women's basketball programs

The Tennessee Tech Athletics department took a step towards the future Jan. 4, announcing the hiring of Marcus Satterfield as the Golden Eagle football program's 12th head coach. The former Temple offensive coordinator brought a renewed enthusiasm to the community, building an intoxicating and addictive energy about Tech football. He capped his first season at the helm of the purple and gold by leading the Golden Eagles to a third place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Nearly three months following the hiring of Satterfield, the Tech Athletics department tabbed former Vanderbilt assistant Kim Rosamond as the head coach of the Golden Eagle women's basketball program. Rosamond instantly made a presence in Cookeville, taking time to spread out into the community and show off her blueprint for rebuilding the program back into a perennial OVC title contender.

January 30

Tech Athletics unveils state-of-the-art floor projection system in Eblen Center

Just two years after the addition of the video board, months after the installation of new seats and weeks after the revealing of new lights, the Tech Athletics department unveiled its newest, and possibly most impressive addition minutes before the Golden Eagle basketball teams kicked off a doubleheader against Belmont; a new, state-of-art, 3D floor projection system.

Believed to be just one of very few permanent systems at the collegiate level (joining the likes of Utah and Duke) and only the second in the state (joining the Nashville Predators) at the time of its installation, the new system had Golden Eagle fans in a standing ovation at the unveiling. The buzz created no doubt an incredible atmosphere that eventually saw the Tech men’s basketball team defeat the OVC’s top team at the time, the Belmont Bruins.

February 25 & May 12

Robinson, Jackson cap record-breaking debuts with OVC Freshman of Year honors

2016 saw a resurgence with the Golden Eagle indoor and outdoor track & field teams, and pacing the revolution were two top freshmen, Na’Asha Robinson and D’Airrien Jackson. Robinson smashed four school records in her debut season, including the 400-meter, 200-meter, 55-meter dash and the 4x400-meter relay. On top of that, the rookie put together the top 400-meter time in the league, clinching her OVC Female Freshman of the Year honors for the indoor season. She capped the year with medalist honors in the 400-meter dash in both the Indoor and Outdoor OVC Championships.

Jackson also wasted no time establishing her presence at Tech, breaking five school records in the 400-meter dash, 800-meters, 4x100-meter relay, 4x400-meter relay and 4x800-meter relay. The newbie posted the fastest 400-meter time in the nation among all freshmen on the year, making her a cinch for OVC Female Freshman of the Year for the outdoor season. She took home individual medalist honors in the 800-meter and just narrowly missed qualifying for nationals.

April 20 & October 4

Women’s golf finishes second in OVC Championships, wins Starmount Fall Classic

Expectations were high for the Golden Eagle women’s golf team heading into the 2016 OVC Championships. The team had posted six Top-Four finishes on the season and rolled into the pinnacle of the year looking to compete for a title. But after one round, Tech found itself in sixth place among the 10 teams in the league. Then sophomore Allyson Dunn led a resurgence over the final two days, tying for second individually while helping the Golden Eagles to a second place showing, the team’s highest finish in the conference tournament in 13 years.

Tech continued its strong play to in the fall of the 2016-17 season, winning its first tournament title since March of 2013 at the Starmount Forest Fall Classic. Sophomore Hollee Sadler became the first Tech player to win individual medalist honors since 2014, posting a career-best 219 to continue a highly successful stretch of Golden Eagle women’s golf.

April 26

Inaugural Golden Wings Awards celebrates, recognizes Tech’s student-athletes

It had all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood's biggest night, a live webstream production from Tennessee Tech's Eblen Center as Tech Athletics hosted the first Golden Wings Awards Show, honoring its student-athletes for their accomplishments on the field/court, in the community and in the classroom. In addition to an ESPY’s style awards show, the night featured a purple carpet entrance, complete with photo booths and video interviews of many of Tech’s more than 300 student-athletes.

In the first of what will become Tech Athletic’s newest annual tradition, thirty awards were distributed to multiple individuals and teams, including: Team of the Year (shared by softball and tennis), Male and Female Freshmen of the Year (won by tennis’ Guillermo Nicolas and indoor track’s Na’Asha Robinson), Play of the Year (won by soccer’s Karigan Owens for her 40-yard, golden goal against Austin Peay) and 14 Golden Eagle Awards (presented to one member of the roster which the team would hold up with pride to represent the team), among many others.

May 14

Mena’s record-breaking season propels Tech tennis to OVC titles, NCAA Tournament

Eduardo Mena proved that no stage was too grand for the OVC's Player of the Year in 2016 as the Bultrago del Lozoya, Spain native capped in a incredible, record-breaking sophomore season  by holding a 7-6 (7-5), 3-2 lead over the nation’s No. 1 ranked player in the NCAA Tournament, Mikael Torpegaard before Ohio State officially defeated Tech in the first round of the event. Mena wrapped up a storied campaign with a 33-5 overall record, the most wins in a single year in TTU history, including going 20-1 in dual action out of the No. 1 spot, highlighted by a perfect 9-0 OVC mark.

His incredible season launched one of the most successful in team history, as the Golden Eagles tallied their third undefeated conference campaign since 2008 with not only the team’s fourth regular season title in five years, but also its first OVC Tournament crown since 2006. Mena helped lead Tech to 15 victories in 2016, the most since 2008. 

June 8

Strohschein caps historic freshman campaign with national recognition

Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, Louisville Slugger All-American and the first player in the 67-year history of the OVC to earn both Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season. By any definition, that would have been plenty to secure Golden Eagle outfielder Kevin Strohschein’s first year in the purple and gold as arguably the best in program, if not league history.

But after breaking numerous records with a resume boasting a .393 average, 57 runs, 90 hits, 21 doubles, 15 home runs, 73 RBI, a .707 slugging percentage and .447 on base percentage, as well a .990 fielding percentage with five assists from the outfield, Strohschein had one more honor to have bestowed upon him. In June, the McDonough, Ga. native took home Louisville Slugger National Co-Freshman Player of the Year honors from Collegiate Baseball, one of the highest honors ever presented to a Tech baseball player.

October 29

Boit dominates in freshman campaign, wins OVC individual title

It didn’t take long for freshman cross country runner Gilbert Boit to take not just the Golden Eagle program, but the entire Ohio Valley Conference by storm. In his very first race donning the purple and gold, the native of Kenya took first place in the Golden Eagle Invitational presented by Hometown IGA, catapulting him on an unstoppable season in which he set program records for both the 8K and 10K.

For his efforts, Boit captured OVC Male Freshman of the Year honors just one day prior to claiming the league’s individual championship. He became Tech’s first even men’s cross country title winner, beating out a field of 90 runners by 10 seconds. Boit was named the Athlete of the Championship and to the All-OVC First Team before finishing 11^th overall at the NCAA Division I South Regionals, the highest finish in school history.

November 3

Naerdemann wins second OVC Defensive POY honor, anchors league’s top defense

If you look behind the numbers, the success of the 2016 Golden Eagle soccer team should come as no surprise. Tech finished 11-6-4, boasting the second most wins in program history and a school record 11 shutouts behind not only the best defensive unit in the Ohio Valley Conference, but also, arguably, in Golden Eagle history. TTU allowed just 13 goals all season propelling the team to a second straight trip to the semifinals of the OVC Tournament.

Anchoring the league’s best defense? Sophomore goalkeeper Kari Naerdemann, who captured her second OVD Defensive Player of the Year honors in as many years after breaking numerous school records and flirting with a few league marks. She posted a 0.59 goals against average and .869 save percentage, both program records and both within spitting distance of the league marks of 0.44 and .889. She posted 11 shutouts, already the Tech career record, giving her 18 in two seasons to rank just 10 behind the OVC’s career mark. Defenders Lauren Brewer, Karigan Owens, and Mary Francis Hoots all collected All-OVC or All-Tournament honors on the year as well, representing the depth of the historic unit.

November 19

Byrd’s record-breaking day helps Tech football clinch third-place finish in OVC

Without a question, the Golden Eagle football team closed out its first season under the watch of head coach Marcus Satterfield as a team. Tech’s 55-19 blowout victory over Murray State showed the signs of a complete team from top-to-bottom, boasting a stout rushing attack, fantastic defensive play resulting in two turnovers and a great kicking game. And at the end of the day, the result was a third place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference, the team’s highest since winning the league’ championship back in 2011.

What stood out the most on the final game of the season was the performance of junior transfer wideout Dontez Byrd. Part of the rebuilding culture set forth by Coach Satterfield, Byrd made his first season in purple and gold count. The receiver turned in 14 catches for 198 yards and two touchdowns against the Racers, breaking the program’s single-season records for both receptions (74) and receiving yards (933). He took home OVC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts and secured a spot on the All-OVC Second Team as well.