BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Valdosta State junior football quarterback Sammy Edwards was named to the Gulf South Conference Top Ten and finalist for the Commissioner's Trophy which is the conference's most prestigious individual honor, the conference office announced this week.
 
Earning GSC Top Ten honors this year are; Alabama Huntsville's Lawren Hayes (softball) and Sam Wilhelm (cross country/track & field), Auburn Montgomery's Gia Martin (softball), Delta State's Patrick Shegog (football), Lee's Kate Dirkse (women's soccer), Mississippi College's McCall Lee (softball), Union's Shanique Lucas (women's basketball), Valdosta State's Sammy Edwards (football), West Florida's Dalton Neuschwander (baseball), and West Georgia's Zawdie Jackson (men's basketball). 

The award recognizes the top female and top male student-athletes for their athletic, academic, and extracurricular achievements, during the 2023-24 academic year. The one student-athlete from each group of honorees will be also be awarded the Commissioner's Trophy, which is the conference's most prestigious individual honor and will be announced in-person at the GSC Awards Ceremony.

The GSC Top Ten Award recipients are selected with the assistance of an advisory committee representing Athletics Directors, Senior Woman Administrators (SWA), Athletic Communication Directors, Faculty Athletic Representatives, and Presidents from randomly selected GSC schools, which makes a recommendation to the Commissioner, who has the final decision.

Top Ten awardees and GSC Commissioner's Trophy winners will be honored on Thursday, May 30 in Pensacola, Fla. The ceremony will be streamed at no charge, on the conference's YouTube channel, and will be part of the GSC Hall of Fame induction. 
 
Edwards, a native of Saint Augustine, Fla., earned VSU Male Athlete of the Year honors in April and had an outstanding first season under center for the Blazers.  He helped lead the team to a share of the program's tenth Gulf South Conference title and a 12-2 record overall earning a berth in the NCAA National Quarterfinals.  Edwards finished third in the prestigious Harlon Hill Award which goes to the nation's top Division II player.  He earned Gulf South Conference Offensive Player of the Year and was named D2 Conference Commissioners Association Super Region Two Offensive Player of the Year. 
 
He finished second nationally for passing yards this season with 4,223, just three yards shy of tying the school-record for passing yards in a season.  He went 327 of 494 passing for 34 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, while is 34 touchdown passes put him third all-time in a single season in program history.  The 4,223 yards passing is third-most all-time in league history.  Nationally speaking, Edwards finished 11^th in completion percentage at a 66.2 clip, while he finished sixth in completions per game at 23.36.  He finished 20^th nationally in passing efficiency (156.3) for third in the league, while his 34 TD tosses were sixth-most nationally.  Edwards finished with 301.6 yards passing per game for fifth nationally and he was fifth in total offense at 321.0 yards per game.  

Edwards is the fifth different Blazer football player to earn GSC Top Ten honors in school history, while he is the 13^thdifferent male and the 25^th overall Blazer student-athlete to earn top ten accolades.  It also marked the fifth-straight year VSU has had at least one GSC Top Ten honoree.  
 
GSC TOP TEN HISTORY
GSC COMMISSIONER TROPHY HISTORY
 
 
Valdosta State GSC Top Ten and Commissioner's Trophy Honorees
Bold* Denotes Commissioner's Trophy Winner