Connor Shaw and Katherine Schmidt Named AgSouth Athletes of the Year
April 14, 2014
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Connor Shaw (football) and Katherine Schmidt (equestrian) both were named 2013-2014 Male and Female AgSouth Athletes of the Year, it was announced on Saturday. Both Shaw and Schmidt were recognized before Saturday’s baseball game at Carolina Stadium.
Shaw is the winningest quarterback in school history with a 27-5 career record as a starter, including a perfect 17-0 mark at home. He threw for nearly 2,500 yards with 24 touchdowns and just one interception in 2013, leading the Gamecocks to their third-straight 11-win season and a No. 4 national ranking – the highest in school history. A team captain, Shaw came off the bench to rally the Gamecocks from a 17-point fourth quarter deficit and defeat the No. 5 Missouri Tigers in a a dramatic double-overtime win. He finished his career with over 6,000 yards passing and 1,500 yards rushing and accounted for 74 touchdowns in his career, more than any other Gamecock in school history.
Schmidt is the winningest equestrian in school history with a 72-19-1 career record, including a 25-2-1 mark this season, best in the country. Schmidt was named SEC Rider of the Year in equitation over fences after going 14-0 this season, and she was named SEC Co-Rider of the Year in equitation on the flat. She earned two First Team All-America selections from the National Collegiate Equestrian Association this year, becoming the first Gamecock equestrian to earn two First Team All-America honors in the same season. She is a three-time SEC Rider of the Month and a four-time NCEA National Rider of the Month. Schmidt also earned pair of All-SEC Team selections this year, and was named to the SEC All-Championship Team after leading the Gamecocks to their second straight SEC title. She is also one of seven Gamecocks this year to be named to the NCEA Academic First Team.
The Athletes of the Year awards are sponsored by AgSouth Farm Credit, a member-owned lending cooperative and a member of the Farm Credit System. AgSouth Farm Credit has been providing financing to rural America for nearly a century.