Eastern Illinois Athletics has announced its candidates for its Male Newcomer of the Year Award. The five candidates were all in their first season of competition for Eastern Illinois during the 2020-21 athletic year.
This year's Male Newcomer of the Year Award finalists are
Richie Jacobo from cross country,
Miguel Turcios from swimming,
Matt Judd from football,
Logan Eickhoff from baseball and
Sammy Friday IV from basketball.
Jacobo was a member of the OVC Championship cross country team as he earned second team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors with an 11th place finish at the league championship. He was the top finisher among OVC freshmen earning OVC Freshman of the Year honors for his performance.
Turcios was an All-Summit League swimmer for the Panthers including the event champion in the 200 backstroke at the league championships. Turcios added a medal in the 200 IM event. During the season he set the school record in three events – 200 backstroke, 200 IM and 400 IM.
Judd was a second team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection for the Panthers football team as a return specialist. Judd led the OVC and ranked 13th in the FCS in kickoff return average at 24.8 yards per game with a long return of 53 yards. He was also a wide receiver hauling in eight passes for 109 yards and a touchdown.
Eickhoff was a catalyst for the Eastern Illinois offense in the early portion of the baseball season before suffering a hand injury that forced him to miss a part of the season. Despite missing some time, Eickhoff hit .423 for the season with his 13 stolen bases ranked in the top ten in the league.
Friday was a solid performer for the Eastern Illinois basketball team after transferring in as a graduate student from Siena College. Friday would average 8.9 points per game for the season appearing in 21 games. He shot 60 percent from the field to rank fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference while he was sixth in the league in offensive rebounds.
The winner for the award will be announced in July along with the winners of the Female Newcomer of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year, Senior Male AD Award and Senior Female AD Award winners. The candidates for the other awards will be released this week. EIU did not recognize athletic award winners for the 2019-20 athletic year due to COVID-19 canceling the spring sports season.
