ATLANTA - Belhaven University's Shantashia John has been named the 2022-23 Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) Women's Basketball Player of the Year as the conference released it's regular season awards and all-sportsmanship team today. John led the CCS in scoring during the regular season and helped lead the Blazers to an 8-6 mark in CCS play. 

Joining John as 2022-23 CCS major award winners were: Berea's Dailyn Spalding who earned Defensive Player of the Year; LaGrange's Laila Battle who was selected as both the conference's Sixth Player of the Year as well as the CCS Rookie of the Year and LaGrange's Jasen Jonus who was selected by his peers as the CCS Coach of the Year.  

CCS regular season champion, Berea, led the way with six student-athletes named All-Conference, while Lagrange had four recognized.

The awards were selected and decided upon following a vote by the conference's head coaches. 

CCS Player of the Year | Shantashia John, Belhaven
John was named the Conference Player of the Week three times and earned Rookie of the Week a remarkable eight times in her first year on campus for the Blazers. She currently leads the CCS in scoring average at 20 points per game, which also puts her in the top 25 nationally in that category. She has scored in double figures in 22 of Belhaven's 24 games so far this season, including scoring 20 or more in ten games on the season. She is currently second in the conference in field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three-point percentage. John was also named a First Team All-Conference selection. 

CCS Defensive Player of the Year | Dailyn Spalding, Berea 
Spalding helped lead Berea to a tremendous regular season as the Mountaineers finished with a mark of 23-2, including 15-1 in CCS play. She leads a Mountaineers defense that is tops in the conference in points per game allowed, and she is in the top 10 in the CCS in steals per game. She was also named a Second Team All-Conference selection. 

CCS Sixth Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year | Laila Battle, LaGrange 
Battle had an immediate impact in her first year for the Panthers in helping lead them to a 19-6 record and the No. 2 seed in this week's Women's Basketball Championship. She currently leads the conference in free throw percentage, and is among the conference's leaders in points per game, assists per game, and steals per game. In addition to earning both prestigious awards, she was also named a First Team All-Conference selection. 

CCS Coach of the Year | Jasen Jonus, LaGrange 
Jonus has been named the CCS Coach of the Year following a vote by the conference's head coaches. He led the Panthers to a 19-6 mark during the regular season, including a 13-3 record in CCS play and the number two seed in the Conference Championship Tournament. Four of Jonus's student-athletes were named all-conference, including Battle who was named the conference's Sixth Player and Rookie of the Year. LaGrange will take on Covenant in tonight's Quarterfinal Round action. 

Major Award Winners 
Player of the Year - Shantashia John, Belhaven 
Defensive Player of the Year - Dailyn Spalding, Berea
Rookie of the Year - Laila Battle, LaGrange 
Sixth Player of the Year - Laila Battle, LaGrange
Coach of the Year - Jasen Jonus, LaGrange

All-Conference Selections 
- Listed alphabetically by school - 

CCS First Team 
Xhiir Burgess, Belhaven 
Shantashia John, Belhaven
Destiny Combs, Berea 
Aaliyah Hampton, Berea 
LynKaylah James, Berea 
A.B. Davis, Huntingdon 
Kinstin Davis, Huntingdon 
Laila Battle, LaGrange 
Zyhia Johnson, LaGrange
Courtney Carruthers, Maryville 
Nakiyah Washington, Piedmont 

CCS Second Team
Ebony Gayden, Belhaven
Jayden Merriweather, Berea 
Drea Satori, Berea
Dailyn Spalding, Berea
Cosette Kirsch, Covenant 
Karis McIntosh, Covenant
Emma Huskey, Maryville 
Gracie Brunel, LaGrange 
Amanda McLendon, LaGrange 
Colby Reed, Piedmont
Ashley Scott, Piedmont
Jamila Ra-Hashim, Wesleyan 

CCS All-Sportsmanship Team
Kayla Jones, Agnes Scott
Kourtne Lee, Belhaven
Drea Satori, Berea
Elissa Moore, Covenant
Alina Shoemake, Huntingdon
Jada Strickland, LaGrange
Kinsee LeFevers, Maryville
Laken Stiles, Piedmont
Gabby Barnwell, Wesleyan 

ABOUT THE COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE OF THE SOUTH
The CCS is an NCAA Division III athletic conference that began play during the 2022-23 academic year. The conference features nine members and sponsors championships across 14 sports. In addition to sharing the member institutions' geographic identity, the name 'Collegiate Conference of the South' is indicative of a shared commitment to academic excellence, which is commensurate with the NCAA Division III philosophy.

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