Western Wayne Today

Wayne State University Director of Athletics Erika Wallace has announced the 2023-24 Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year. Candidates were judged on academic distinction, athletic accomplishments, individual involvement in university and community service, as well as coaches' recommendations.

Graduate student swimmer Jordan Fox from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (Mentone Grammar), and senior men's tennis player Daniel Grey from Wiesbaden, Germany (Gutenberg), were selected for the honors after being nominated by their respective coaches with voting conducted by the athletic department's coaches and administrative staff.

Fox becomes only the fourth person in the history of the award to be a two-time recipient. She joins men's swimming standout David Lutz (2003-04, 2004-05), diver Erika Barczak (2005-06, 2007-08), and softball national player of the year Lyndsay Butler (2015-16, 2016-17).

The 2023-24 GLIAC Swimmer of the Year, Fox received First Team All-GLIAC honors five times last February for winning multiple events. At the national championships, she was a six-time All-American with four First Team and two Second Team honors. During her collegiate career, Fox earned 21 All-America honors in total. She became WSU's first three-time recipient of the GLIAC Commissioner's Award for academic and athletic excellence in its 17-year history. Fox earned both a bachelor's degree in Accounting with an undergrad GPA of 3.79 and a master's degree in Accounting while maintaining high academic performance.

Grey received two All-American certificates from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association as both a singles All-American (ranked fourth nationally) and as a doubles All-American alongside his partner Cedric Drenth (ranked No. 1 nationally). He also earned several other accolades including GLIAC Player of the Year and was honored with WSU's inaugural GLIAC Sportsmanship Award.

Academically excelling as well, Grey maintained high grades throughout his collegiate career as a Neuroscience Honors major. He concluded his collegiate career with notable records: an 86-29 singles record and a program-high doubles record at WSU.

This marks the 21st year of Wayne State University's Student-Athlete of the Year award since it began in 2001-02. The award skipped two years due to reduced athletic competition because of COVID.

Among past recipients are individuals who have significantly contributed to their sports programs during their tenure at WSU. Notably included are David Guerrera (hockey goalie), Shelly Vickery (cross country runner), Kim Spaulding (women's hockey forward), Nick Ingrao (swimmer), Kris Krzyminski (basketball player) among others who have been inducted into WSU Athletic Hall of Fame over time.

---