HU's Johnson named MEAC Male Student-Athlete of the Year

NORFOLK, Virginia -- Hampton University guard Reginald Johnson, Jr. has been named the 2016 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Male Student-Athlete of the Year, the conference office announced.

Johnson is the first Hampton student-athlete to receive the honor.

"I would like to congratulate Reginald Johnson, Jr.," MEAC Commissioner Dr. Dennis Thomas said. "He's had an absolutely phenomenal career at Hampton University, not only as a student-athlete, but academically and in extracurricular activities as well. I wish him continued success and I would like to thank all the people who had a positive influence on Reginald."

In two seasons with the Pirates, Johnson helped the program win back-to-back MEAC Tournament titles and make consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. This past season, Johnson was named First Team All-MEAC and the MEAC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, ranking second in the conference in scoring with 18.1 points per game.

He had two 30-point games on the season, including a career-high 35 points at Northern Arizona on Dec. 2. He also had 30 points against Washington Adventist.

Johnson was also third in the MEAC in steals and sixth in assists. Johnson averaged 19.3 points and 8.3 assists per game in the MEAC Tournament, and he dished out a MEAC Tournament record-tying 13 assists in the quarterfinals against Morgan State.



Johnson was also named a BoxToRow All-American and Second Team All-State by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID).

In addition to his on-court excellence, Johnson graduated this past May with a degree in sports management, boasting a 3.18 GPA.

He also has been a pillar in the community, volunteering at local elementary schools in Hampton and Newport News, Va. He also participated in Jump Rope for Heart, Read Across America, and the annual Pirates Leading Area Youth Day.

In addition, he worked in the Department of Athletics as a marketing representative.

The Male Student-Athlete of the Year honor is provided to the student-athlete who has excelled academically and athletically and is in his final season of intercollegiate athletic eligibility and competition under MEAC and NCAA regulations for the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated.

Each of the MEAC's 13-member institutions may nominate one male student-athlete for the honor. The honoree is selected by a committee of five conference Athletic Directors that use a combination of the following criteria in selection of the award: service of leadership, academic achievement and athletics excellence.



COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS