NEW ORLEANS, La. - JP Tighe was named the recipent of the Inagural Tony Robichaux Leadership Award on Monday afternoon by the Sun Belt Conference. This award is awarded to a player who exemplifies great leadership and sportsmanship on a Sun Belt team.

"It's a real honor for our program and JP Tighe to be named the first recipeient of the Tony Robichaux Leadership Award," said Eagles head coach Rodney Hennon. "Coach Robe (Robichaux) led a life that brought out the best in those around him every day, and when I think of Tighe and the five years he has been a part of our program at Georgia Southern, I can say that he does the same thing."

"He wakes up every day seeking to be the best version of himself," continued Hennon. "Not only that, but he tries to bring out the best in others and make an impact. In a game where we constantly look at numbers, you cannot put a number on the impact JP has made during his time at Georgia Southern, not only in our locker room, but on our campus and in our community."

"Like Coach Robe, the world is a better place because of people like JP Tighe," Coach Hennon concluded.

"When Coach Hennon told me that I had been nominated for the Coach Robichaux Leadership Award, I was extremely honored," Tighe said. "It is a privilege to be a candidate for this award, and I'd like to thank all of the coaches around the Sun Belt who voted for me as the recipient of this award. I know he [Coach Robichaux] had a tremendous impact on athletes, specifically those at Louisiana, as well as across the country. It's an honor to be in the talks of a coach who had so much of an impact on so many different athletes."

Coach Robichaux was the head baseball coach at Louisiana for 25 years, and was the winningest head coach in UL history with 914 wins. Robichaux took Louisiana to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2000, as well as 12 NCAA Regionals and four Super Regionals during his time at Louisiana. Robichaux finished his career with 1,177 wins and is 50th all-time in NCAA all-time wins. Robichaux also coached at McNeese State for several years, where he was inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame in 2017.

The Tony Robichaux Leadership Award is meant for a baseball student-athlete who exemplifies the values and beliefs that the late Coach Robichaux would instill on his players and his community. Tighe was named the ideal candidate after not only service as a team captain on and off the field, but by also using that leadership to help set an athletic and academic standard for his team.