Held, Nash named SC ESPY Athletes of the Year

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Senior Brady Held of Storm baseball and junior Cassie Nash of Simpson women's soccer and women's basketball have been named the 2021-22 SC ESPY Male and Female Athletes of the Year.

Held, the 2022 American Rivers Conference Pitcher of the Year and Simpson baseball's first All-American in 31 years, excelled on both sides of the ball during his senior season with the Storm. On the mound, Held posted a 4-0 record and 2.23 ERA (1st in A-R-C) across 48.1 innings of work. Behind a .178 opponent batting average (1st in A-R-C) and 15.64 strikeouts per nine innings (1st in A-R-C, 2nd in NCAA DIII), the Indianola, Iowa native struck out 84 batters (2nd in A-R-C) and allowed just 31 hits (t-1st in A-R-C). He became Simpson's all-time strikeout leader much thanks to four double-digit strikeout performances highlighted by a school record 18 in a seven inning, complete game win on March 13.

Offensively, Held led the Storm with a .398 batting average, .488 on-base percentage and .602 slugging percentage, ranking top-7 in the conference in all three categories. He recorded 41 hits, including 12 doubles and three home runs, drew 20 walks, scored a team-high 35 runs and racked up 21 RBIs. He finished the season with 15 multi-hit games, including five with three hits, and tallied multiple RBIs four times.

A conference MVP contender in both sports, Nash played a fundamental role in the successful seasons women's soccer and women's basketball had in 2021-22. Her efforts on the pitch fueled women's soccer to a 13-6-1 overall record, the most overall wins since 2011, and her time on the court helped women's basketball go 26-2 with a perfect 15-0 record in conference play. Both teams Nash was a member of had successful postseasons as women's soccer won its first postseason victory since 2011 and women's basketball won the A-R-C Tournament and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

On the pitch, the Lincoln, Neb. native led the A-R-C in nearly every statistical category and became the first women's soccer player to earn all-region honors since 2003. Nash scored 13 goals, the most by a Simpson player in 15 seasons, and topped the league in shots (76), shots on goal (43), and points (33) while ranking second in assists (7). She had four multi-goal performances and three game-winners.

Nash collected another all-region honor just a few months later in basketball. One of the top defenders and most efficient scorers in the nation, the junior guard averaged 14.8 points with the ninth-highest field goal percentage (57.9) in the country. She led the conference and ranked seventh in Division III with 89 steals, finishing the season ranked second all-time for steals in a single season. Nash was second on the team and in the league with 3.2 assists per game.

2021-22 SC ESPYs
Record-Breaking Performer of the Year - Spencer Moon, track and field
Female Newcomer of the Year - Jessica Jacobs, volleyball
Male Newcomer of the Year - Breydon Paxson, shooting sports
Play of the Year - Regan Freland, women's basketball
Team of the Year - Women's Basketball
Coach of the Year - Brian Niemuth, women's basketball
Female Athlete of the Year - Cassie Nash, women's soccer and women's basketball
Male Athlete of the Year - Brady Held, baseball