DALLAS – Conference USA announced the 14 recipients of the Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship Friday. The 11^th annual award is named in honor of Dr. Jim Castañeda who served Rice for 46 years as an educator, coach and Faculty Athletics Representative before he passed away in 2008. Every season, C-USA grants the $4,000 scholarship to distinguished graduates selected by the league’s Faculty Athletics Representatives and approved by the Board of Directors.
 
2019 Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients
Harris Yett, Baseball, Charlotte
Diamond Johnson, Baseball, Florida Atlantic
Elhadji Dieng, Men’s Basketball, FIU
Derric Jean, Men’s Basketball, Louisiana Tech
Thomas Martin, Baseball, Marshall
Scheldon Paulk, Baseball, Middle Tennessee
Hannah Winn, Women’s Track, North Texas
Mufu Taiwo, Football, Old Dominion
Elsa Racasan, Women’s Track/Cross Country, Rice
Ola Akinniyi, Women’s Soccer, Southern Miss
Deanna Kuzmanic, Women’s Basketball, UAB
Lilian Koech, Women’s Track/Cross Country, UTEP
Charlette Janicek, Women’s Track/Cross Country, UTSA
Rachel Anderson, Volleyball, WKU
 
Harris Yett, Baseball, Charlotte
Yett made his mark on the 49ers program as an All-C-USA First-Team catcher who led Charlotte in batting (.325) and topped C-USA in doubles (22). After obtaining a 3.421 GPA in sociology, Yett plans to continue his academic career at Charlotte, pursuing his M.S. in Management.
 
Diamond Johnson, Baseball, Florida Atlantic
A sociology major and Florida Atlantic All-Academic Team member, Johnson batted .289 as a reserve outfielder on the C-USA Regular Season Championship squad. He plans to earn his master’s at Florida Atlantic in higher education leadership.
 
Elhadji Dieng, Men’s Basketball, FIU
In his two years with the Panthers, Dieng played in 55 games, tallying a .471 field goal percentage. Dieng, who posted a 3.66 GPA in liberal studies as an undergraduate, has completed the first term toward his postgraduate degree in recreation and management at FIU.
 
Derric Jean, Men’s Basketball, Louisiana Tech
A 2018-19 team captain, Jean competed in 107 games for the Bulldogs over four years, totaling 900 points and 320 rebounds. After earning a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology health promotion, Jean will begin his business administration master’s track at Louisiana Tech.
 
Thomas Martin, Baseball, Marshall
This season, Martin made 10 starts for the Thundering Herd, posting nearly twice as many strikeouts as walks over 24 innings pitched. After compiling a 3.91 GPA in management/healthcare management, he was accepted into the healthcare administration master’s program at Marshall.
 
Scheldon Paulk, Baseball, Middle Tennessee
On the field, Paulk made 25 relief appearances, posting two saves and striking out 45, while walking just eight in 42 innings pitched. An eight-time selection to Middle Tennessee’s presidential honor roll, Paulk is participating in Middle Tennessee’s accelerated MBA program.
 
Hannah Winn, Women’s Track, North Texas
Winn has competed in the pole vault event for four years with the Mean Green and cleared a collegiate-best height of 3.50 meters at the 2016 C-USA Outdoor Championships for seventh place. She earned a 3.74 GPA in kinesiology and is applying to several physical therapy graduate programs around Texas.
 
Mufu Taiwo, Football, Old Dominion
Taiwo appeared in all 12 games, registering 12 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and recovered one fumble this season for the Monarchs. An information technology major, Taiwo served as SAAC President at Old Dominion and will complete his master’s degree in public administration there as well.
 
Elsa Racasan, Women’s Track/Cross Country, Rice
Racasan recorded two bronze finishes at the 2017 C-USA Indoor Championships in the mile and the 3000-meter, and qualified for the NCAA South Central Region Cross Country Championships in 2016 where she placed 24^th. A May 2019 graduate with a 4.1 GPA in kinesiology, Racasan has been accepted to Rice’s MBA program.
 
Ola Akinniyi, Women’s Soccer, Southern Miss
In 2017, Akinniyi became the first Golden Eagle since 2007 to be named an All-C-USA First Team selection and was again a first-team pick in 2018 after starting all 20 games as a defender, pacing Southern Miss to its first C-USA Championship finals match in program history. The architectural engineering technology major holds a 3.75 GPA and has been accepted into the University of Miami graduate program.
 
Deanna Kuzmanic, Women’s Basketball, UAB
A three-time all-conference and all-academic selection, Kuzmanic started all 128 games during her career and polished off nearly 13 points and seven rebounds per game throughout her final season in 2018-19. A four-time C-USA Academic Medal recipient, she posted a 3.94 GPA as a mathematics major and would like to pursue a master’s in athletic administration.
 
Lilian Koech, Women’s Track/Cross Country, UTEP
Koech has qualified for the NCAA Outdoor West Preliminaries four times, advancing to the NCAA Championships in 2017 and 2019 in the 800-meter, in addition to recording multiple top-three finishes at every C-USA Indoor and Outdoor Championship of her career. In cross country, she has logged three All-C-USA First-Team performances at conference championships. The two-time C-USA Honor Roll selection completed her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences with a 3.489 GPA and is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Pharmacy program at UTEP.
 
Charlette Janicek, Women’s Track/Cross Country, UTSA
Janicek ran a career-best time of 10:53.44 in the 3000-meter at the 2019 C-USA Indoor Championships after winning the event for the first time the month prior and has competed in the NCAA South Central Region Cross Country Championships twice. After earning a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a 3.85 GPA, Janicek will attend the University of Texas Medical Branch to earn her doctorate degree in physical therapy.
 
Rachel Anderson, Volleyball, WKU
Anderson was named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American in 2018 as she knocked home nearly 400 kills and 113 blocks, closing her career as WKU’s third-best block producer in program history. Anderson, who earned a 3.37 GPA in sport management during undergrad, just wrapped up her first semester of graduate coursework at WKU studying recreation and sport administration.