Notre Dame Athletics: The Inaugural Slappy Awards!
By J.P. Scott
Newcomer Of The Year
Carlee North: This one was tough but I’m going to say Quarterback Ian Book. He redshirted his freshman season and was listed as the fourth string QB on the depth chart. Last season he was lifted up to second string and was put into a pivotal role seven times for the Irish throughout the season. He also was named the starting quarterback against the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Nathan Erbach: Cole Kmet (Football/Baseball). This may be a reach, but I couldn’t think of another player more deserving. His stats won’t blow you away in either sport, but lettering in two sports is an impressive feat in it’s own right. Plus, he held a 3.5 GPA during his freshman year.
Kmet played in 4 games for the football team in the Fall and caught 2 passes for 14 yards, all coming against Wake Forest. He also received a ton of praise from the coaching staff. I am expecting a big sophomore leap for him in 2018. On the baseball field, Kmet’s ERA wasn’t the greatest at 5.05, but he lead the team in saves with 8 and threw 46.1 innings. Impressive numbers for a freshman pitcher.
Kmet deserves more praise than the number suggest.
Jack Leniart: I cheated here and picked two people — Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Kurt Hinish. The Notre Dame football team had some concerns regarding their depth at the interior defensive line positions heading into the 2017 season. They were going to have to lean on contributions from some true freshmen to give the starters some breaks.
This was worrisome considering most coaching staffs want lineman to have a year of strength and conditioning before playing. Tagovailoa-Amosa and Hinish quickly squashed those concerns by establishing themselves as solid rotation players. They both improved as the season went on and saw an uptick in the number of snaps they played each game.
Sonny Martinez: Nick Itkin. Winning a National Championship in your freshman year is quite the start. Itkin, a fencing freshman, went 37-11, collecting an individual Men’s Foil award and leading the Irish to another fencing championship.
Connor McJunkin: Abby Sweet. A starter from game one on campus for the Irish, Sweet definitely wasted no time making a name for herself. She finished 2nd on the team in batting average (.333) and hits (57), and led the team in runs (38), doubles (13), and stolen bases (15). She was named to the 2nd Team All-ACC and ACC All-Freshmen Team. That’s a pretty ‘sweet’ start to her career, if you ask me.
J.P. Scott: Full disclosure — I’ve seen the rest of the answers and I know I could break a six-way tie. Instead, I’m making it a seven-way tie. Because transfers are newcomers, I’m choosing Jessica Shepard of the women’s basketball team.
She transferred in from Nebraska and immediately became Notre Dame’s identity in the paint. Her physicality and persistence down low were the final piece of the national championship puzzle. I’m convinced that they don’t win the title without her.
And the Slappy goes to:
ALL OF THEM!
This is just indicative of how good Notre Dame’s immediate future is on the athletic fields across the board.