Alexis Potts Named NCEA Rider of the Year

WACO, TX – Junior Alexis Potts has been named the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) Horsemanship Rider of the Year, as announced on Wednesday. The honor is the first of Potts’ career, and just the second NCEA Rider of the Year nod in program history (Caroline Gute, 2019-20).

“Being the rider of the year takes a lot of determination and goal setting,” head coach Carol Gwin said. “Alexis achieved this and we are all so proud of her! She has earned every bit of this enormous recognition and certainly has been an amazing representative of Gamecock Equestrian.”

Potts has had a dominant season, currently holding a 12-1-3 record with an undefeated 5-0-1 slate in conference play. Her six Most Outstanding Performer (MOP) awards mark the most in the NCEA this season, and the most ever for a junior in program history. Her 12 wins and six career MOPs are each tied for the third most in the Gamecock record book, with at least one more meet to go. Potts went through the fall undefeated and rounded out the spring portion grabbing five MOPs in a six-meet span. She was also named to the All-SEC list for Horsemanship, in addition to being tabbed the SEC Horsemanship Rider of the Year for the first time in her career.

Potts and the rest of the Gamecock Equestrian team are set to take on fifth-seeded SMU in the opening round of the NCEA Championships on Thursday, April 16 beginning at 8:30 a.m. Fans can tune in and watch live on ESPN+.