Voting for the 3rd annual FlamesNation Player of the Year is underway! This award will be voted on by you, FlamesNation, as we seek to award the most outstanding Liberty University Athlete from the calendar year 2015. Below you will find the 10 nominees you can vote for. Voting runs now through December 14th at which time we will reduce the list of 10 to the 3 finalists. Voting will reset at that time, when you can then vote from the pool of the top 3 as we select our FlamesNation Player of the Year! Voting will close for the 3 finalists on December 31st.

You can vote 3 ways each round: by leaving a comment on this post, by voting in our poll, or by mentioning @Flames_Nation on twitter with the hashtag #FlamesNationPOY and your selection.

You may select 3 different student-athletes this round.

Natalie Barr, field hockey*

Barr paced the Lady Flames with 69 shots, 33 points, and 14 goals on the season. She helped lead Liberty to a 12-6 record and top 20 national ranking in 2015. Barr and the Lady Flames faced 8 nationally ranked opponents during the season and finished the year with a 12-0 shutout victory over Appalachian State.

 

closeAlex Close, baseball

Close was selected to the Big South All-Conference first team as an infielder for the 2nd time following the 2015 season. He finished the year with a .342 batting average, 46 RBIs, 40 runs, and 7 home runs. He led the Flames in batting average, hits, doubles, slugging percentage, and on base percentage. He also made 18 relief appearances as a pitcher, posting a 2-2 record with a 2.21 ERA and 6 saves. Close was selected as a catcher in the 26th round of the MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals.

Jennifer Knoebel, women’s soccer*

Knoebel was named to the Big South’s first team all-conference following the Lady Flames’ 2015 season in which she helped lead Liberty to a Big South Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. Knoebel led the Lady Flames in points (20), goals (6), and assists (8). The sophomore was also named to the Big South’s all-academic team.

 

Ednah Kurgat, women’s cross country*

Liberty freshman Ednah Kurgat made program history with her 12th-place finish in the women’s 6K at the 2015 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. She became the Lady Flames’ first-ever NCAA DIvision I women’s cross country All-American while clocking a program-record time of 20:06.7.


lyonsJared Lyons, baseball

The senior left-hander was selected as the Big South’s Pitcher of the Year following the 2015 season. Lyons finished the year with an 8-2 record and a 1.99 ERA over 99 2/3 innings. He struck out 100 and walked 22 batters while recording 3 complete games and 2 shutouts. Lyons was also named to the 2015 Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-America team, becoming the first Flames pitcher selected to a postseason NCAA Division I All-America team in program history. He was drafted in the 9th round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Oakland A’s.

petey4Darrin Peterson, football

Peterson concludes his Liberty career as a 3-time Big South all-conference selection. In 2015, he led the Big South in receptions (68), receiving yards (906), receiving touchdowns (7), and receptions per game (6.8). Petey finished his career as the Big South all-time leader with 3,170 receiving yards. He rewrote the Liberty receiving record books and now owns all single season and career marks.


Ashley Rininger, women’s basketball*

Rininger has been selected to the first-team All-Big South team each of the past 2 years. She finished the 2014-15 season leading the team in scoring (12.3 ppg), rebounding (8.5 rpg), blocked shots (47), field goal percentage (50.7%), and double-doubles (10). Prior to the 2015-16 team, she was named the Big South’s preseason player of the year. Through the first 4 games of the 2015-16 season, Rininger leads the team in scoring (15.3) and rebounding (8.3).

chimaChima Uzowihe, football

Uzowihe was named Big South Defensive Player of the Year following his senior season in 2015, becoming the first player in program history to receive the honor. He finished the season with 52 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, 6 QB hurries, and 4 pass breakups. Chima is a 3-time All-Big South first team honoree and is one of 25 finalists for the 2015 STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year award. He finished his career with a program and Big South best 25 sacks and is 2nd in program history with 44 career tackles for a loss. 

Holly Van Noord, women’s soccer*

Following up a 2014 season where she was named the Big South Defensive Player of the Year, Van Noord posted 10 shutouts and a league-leading 125 saves. The junior goalkeeper was named 2nd team all-conference after helping the Lady Flames to a Big South Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.

 

woodrumJosh Woodrum, football

Woodrum has been named to the Big South all-conference 2nd team in each of the past 3 seasons. He finished his career as Liberty’s all-time leader in passing yards (10,266), completions (833), and attempts (1,304). He’s also the program record holder with 10,690 career total offensive yards and 2nd in program history with 61 career touchdown passes. In 2015, Woodrum ranked #12 in the country in completions per game and #13 in passing yards.

[yop_poll id=”27″]

*photo courtesy LibertyFlames.com