Caitlin Lowe - USSSA.com

USSSA College Scholarship
Program Continues To Grow
by Scott Kuhnen
“What a great list of candidates!”
says Scott Kuhnen, chairperson for the
USSSA A.E. Ramsey College Scholarship
Program.
“This year we took applications
from five sports in 22 different states,”
explains Kuhnen, “and narrowing the
list of winners to meet our budget allotment
gets harder every year. The evaluation
of college scholarship applications
is accomplished by vice-presidents from
each of these five sports, include Joey
Odom, V-P for Baseball, Bill Dowell and
Jeremy McDowell, V-Ps for fast pitch,
Robert Boudreaux, V-P for Junior Golf;
and Conrad Foss, V-P for Basketball.
This year, with continuing support
from USSSA CEO, Don DeDonatis, and
the entire USSSA Board of Directors,
USSSA has awarded more than $15,000 in
college scholarship money to loyal USSSA
participants.
“This is one of the finest programs
USSSA has to offer,” says DeDonatis.
“Not only do we reward student-athletes
40 USSSA TODAY
Scott Kuhnen- chairperson for the USSSA A.E.
Ramsey College Scholarship Program
for participating in USSSA sports and
excelling at academics, but we also honor
one of the association’s founding fathers
and our former CEO, Al Ramsey.”
The A.E. Ramsey USSSA College
Scholarship Program is named for one
of the founders of USSSA and former
National President, Al Ramsey
SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Baseball
Nicholas Laber Ovideo FL University of Central Florida
Jack Sanchez Kansas City MO Ellsworth Community College
Austin Daus Peoria AZ University of Arizona
Quentin Moore Maxton NC North Carolina State
George Mitchell Crosby TX Southwestern University
Jacob Krehbiel
Fast Pitch
Bixby OK Independence Community College
Carson Catasus Palm Beach Gardens FL St. Thomas University
Naomi Posada Midland TX Midland College
Jesse Rocha Simsbury CT Western Connecticut State University
Caroline Johnson Firestone CO Chadrin State College
Courtney Bristow Bradenton FL Stetson University
Madison McDowell Parkville MO Truman State University
Jessica Ramos El Paso TX University of Minnesota at Crookston
Kayla Sory Bryant AR Henderson State Univ.
Haley McDonald Greenley CO Adams State College
Avery Cranford Whitewright TX Eastern Oklahoma State College
Amber Oxford Huntington AR Ouachita Baptist University
Chrystal Reese Pilot Point TX Cisco Jr College
Makenzie Rome Kansas City MO Johnson County Community College
Laura Erickson Sioux Falls SD Dakota Wesleyan University
Danielle Johnson Fountain CO Trinadad State Junior College
Taylor DeBoer Broomfield CO Lamar Community College
Ciara Kimminau Arvada CO William Penn University
Brooklyn Colvin Stillwell OK University of Arkansas-Montichello
Anna Corch Emmaus PA Lehigh University
Nicole Krebs
Slow Pitch
Eudora KS Ottawa University
Lacy Painter Manchester TN Motlow State Community College
Emily Maloney
Golf
Middletown OH Miami University-Middletown
Joseph Fruge
Basketball
Lafayette LA University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Jessica Hundley Palm Beach Gardens FL University of Florida
Christopher Walker Fort Lauderdale FL Bethune Cookman University
This year’s scholarship money goes
to 31 student-athletes in fast pitch and
slow pitch softball, basketball, golf, and
baseball. Each scholarship recipient was
awarded $500 and, unlike many scholarships
which are awarded to the schools
to defray solely tuition costs, the USSSA
scholarship funds are sent directly to the
students and their families and can be
used for tuition, books, housing, or just a
living allowance.
According to Mr. DeDonatis, scholarships
have been available for some years
now to our youth softball programs
(slow pitch and fast pitch), baseball, and
basketball. Starting just three years ago,
the popular USSSA Junior Golf program
was added to the list of recipients, and
as additional sports begin to grow and
our involvement by high school students
begins to expand in those sports, USSSA
will award even more scholarships.
“We look forward to receiving more
and more applications from our participants,”
says DeDonatis. “While we
hate turning some applicants down, we
appreciate that our Directors and our
participants recognize the value of this
program. We are anxious to help those
student-athletes who have participated
in our USSSA programs.”
Interested student-athletes should
go to www.USSSA.com to download an
application form and begin the process
of applying today. The application form
can be found on the various home pages
for slow pitch, fast pitch, baseball, and
basketball.
The application must be endorsed
by a USSSA Sponsor (manager/coach,
State Director, National Board Member),
forwarded to the State Director in the
sport for which you are applying, must
be accompanied by a letter of acceptance
from the college you are attending, a
photo, and a brief essay (200-300 words)
explaining how USSSA sports helped you
prepare for college and future endeavors.
USSSA College Scholarship applications
are due to the USSSA National
Headquarters by 15 August of each
year. If there are any questions, please
direct them to your USSSA State Director
or Scott Kuhnen, So/Central Ohio State
Director, (937) 429-0029 or e-mail:
dayton_softball@hotmail.com.