And, in other news, water’s wet and the sky is blue.
In an announcement that will surprise just about no one, the ACC announced its male and female Athletes of the Year late Friday morning, with Jameis Winston taking home the former honor as the two-sport star added yet another piece of hardware to his burgeoning trophy case.
In December of last year, the Florida State quarterback was named the conference’s Overall Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year following the Seminoles’ unbeaten regular season. Just a couple of weeks before FSU staked its claim to the final BCS title, Winston was named the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner -- the youngest recipient in the award’s history -- as well as the prestigious Walter Camp Player of the Year and earned consensus All-American honors.
Instead of taking a little breather from his whirlwind first season as a starter on the field -- and a good amount of controversy off of it -- Winston joined the FSU baseball team as a relief pitcher and designated hitter. The release on the award states that, "[o]n the baseball diamond, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Winston made 24 relief appearances and led the Seminoles in saves with seven while posting a 1-0 record and 1.08 ERA. He struck out 31 batters while walking just seven allowing 18 hits in 33.1 innings pitched.”
Winston was the top pick of 22 of the 41 the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA) voters. The second-most votes went to former Pittsburgh defensive lineman and 2014 NFL first-round draft pick Aaron Donald.
Winston also becomes the second Seminole football player to win the award, joining Charlie Ward.
And, for those wondering, Maryland women’s basketball All-American Alyssa Thomas was given the female version of the conference award.