TYLER, TEXAS – Rawley Hector of baseball and Courtney Plocheck of softball have been named the 2023-24 UT Tyler Male and Female Athletes of the Year as part of the annual UT Tyler Athletics Annual Awards.
 
The Male and Female Athlete of the Year Awards are presented annually to the male and female student-athletes who are considered the top performers of the year across the department. The UT Tyler Athletics Annual Awards are nominated and voted upon by the department's head coaches.
 
Both student-athletes were named All-Americans for their respective performances in 2024 and captained their clubs to success this spring.
 
Plocheck was named a Third Team All-American by the NFCA, her second straight All-American selection, and led the Lone Star Conference with 92 hits on the year. The Deer Park, Texas native hit .411 for the year, ranking second in the LSC with 59 RBI and 21 doubles for the year.
 
She helped lead UT Tyler to the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championship, earning a spot on the NCAA Division II World Series All-Tournament Team. Plocheck was voted as an NFCA Second Team All-South Central Region selection and was named to the All-Lone Star Conference First Team for the third time in her career.
 
The 2024 campaign capped off a historic career for Plocheck in a Patriot uniform as she set the all-time program record for hits in a career with 281. Plocheck appeared in a school record 222 games from 2021-24 and posted a career batting average of .405.
 
Hector was named as a Third Team All-American by both the ABCA and the D2CCA and the South Central Region Pitcher of the Year by three different organizations. Hector went 7-3 overall over 13 starts and held a 2.95 ERA, the top mark in the Lone Star Conference.
 
The righty threw 73.1 total innings, allowing just 24 earned runs while striking out 56 batters and holding opposing hitters to just a .241 average.
 
The Van Alstyne, Texas native was selected as the Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Year for his efforts and was named to the All-South Central Region and All-Lone Star Conference First Team. He posted a pair of complete game shutouts in back-to-back starts, was twice named LSC Pitcher of the Week, and also earned NCBWA South Central Region Pitcher of the Week honors on April 17.
 
The complete list of UT Tyler athletic department award winners is included below.

Monday, June 17
 
P.M. – Men's and Women's Team Scholastic Award (Softball and Men's Tennis)
 
Tuesday, June 18
 
A.M. – Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Lukas Paulun, Men's Soccer and Michelle Arias, Softball)
P.M. – Male and Female Comeback Player of the Year (Lukas Paulun, Men's Soccer, and Dakota Rogers-Hurtado, Volleyball)
 
Wednesday, June 19
 
A.M. – Male and Female Freshman Athlete of the Year (Connor Clark, Baseball and Gracie Wood, Dance)
P.M. – Male and Female Individual Single-Game Performance (Daniil Felker, Men's Tennis and Juliane Frueh, Women's Track and Field)
 
Thursday, June 20
 
A.M. – Male and Female Service & Leadership Award (Ethan Bedgood, Baseball and Sam Schott, Softball)
P.M. – Male and Female Athlete of the Year (Rawley Hector, Baseball and Courtney Plocheck, Softball)