Eagle Nation,

I pray this note finds you and your family safe and healthy. 

We are coming down the home stretch of the 2021-22 athletic year. It has been an exciting year as we are on track for the best spring on record for the department.

Before I provide some exciting updates since my last correspondence, I first wanted to highlight our student-athletes' terrific spring semester in the classroom. For the semester, we tallied a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.16! One of the many highlights of the semester was our football program securing a program-best record with a 2.83 GPA. 

Overall, for the year, we tied our departmental record with a 3.08 cumulative GPA. 268 student-athletes earned a place on the honor roll (3.0 or higher). Of that group, 90 made the Dean's List (3.50-3.99) and 87 made the President's List for earning a perfect 4.0 semester GPA.

Our baseball team has been on an absolute tear this spring. Going into our weekend series starting today at Little Rock, we are currently No. 10 in the NCAA RPI rankings. From a Sun Belt standpoint, we are second overall with an 18-6 record in conference play. Another interesting stat is that we have 23 come-from-behind wins on the season. Coach Hennon and his staff have done a tremendous job leading this group of gritty ballplayers. Please plan on attending games against Mercer and UT Arlington next week as the Eagles close out their regular season schedule at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Sun Belt Baseball Championship starts on May 24 at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama.

How about our women's golf team capturing the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Championship last month?!? It was the first Sun Belt title for the Eagles as Georgia Southern began its women's golf program in 2015-16. Freshman Sarunchana Rattanasin earned medalist honors while senior Mia Kness tied for second. The conference team championship earned our program its first NCAA postseason invitation, with play concluding this past Wednesday with a seventh-place finish in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. The Eagles finished ahead of three ranked teams, highlighted by Abby Newton's performance as she placed 12th overall in the field. Even more extraordinary, Mimi Burke and assistant coach Cabe Waters led our team to this tremendous feat in their first season in Statesboro. With most of the lineup slated to return next season, our best golf is still ahead!

Our men's golf program is traveling to New Haven, Connecticut, today to prepare for Monday's opening round of the New Haven NCAA Regional at the Yale Golf Course. The Carter Collins-led squad enters postseason play as the 49th ranked team in the country (Golfstat). Overall, the Eagles are making their 27th appearance in the NCAA Championships, the fifth under Collins and the 10th in Collins' 15-year tenure on the coaching staff. The Eagles last played in the Sun Belt Conference Championship, finishing second in a matchplay against Little Rock that came down to the last hole. Fans can follow our men's golf team at NCAA Regionals by accessing Golfstat.com.

Tonight marks the last of 12 stops on the Eagle Caravan - what a tour it has been! Thank you, Eagle Nation, for welcoming us with open arms as we have traversed the state. Your passion for this great institution that we all love is unmatched!
In closing, for Georgia Southern to reach its desired goals, I will continue to strategically highlight three (3) action steps that individuals and companies can take to help us:

1. Financially support the Athletic Foundation and the Erk Russell Fund
2. Buy season tickets and create a home-field advantage
3. Get others to do the same!

Our Athletic Ticket Office is ready to assist you in purchasing tickets and can be reached at 1-800-GSU-WINS or via email at tickets@georgiasouthern.edu. For those wishing to donate, please go to: www.Give.GSEagles.com.

Our best days are ahead – thank you for your continued support!

Hail Southern! GATA!

Jared Benko
Georgia Southern Director of Athletics