NEMCC Annual Tiger Awards go to Eleven Student-Athletes, Including Two from Union County
A total of 11 student-athletes received the Tiger Award at the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year. It is given to an individual from each sport that represents themselves and their team in a positive manner. All but one of the recipients are natives of the Magnolia State. A majority of the selections are sophomores as usual, but there were four freshman winners this year as well.
Baseball • Cooper Davis (Ripley) was the definition of a utility player. He originally arrived at Northeast as a catcher, but also saw action at left field, right field, first base and on the pitchers mound. Davis was a career .296 batter with a .394 on-base percentage, 14 doubles, three home runs, 49 RBI and 37 runs scored with 16 multi-hit games over 80 appearances for the Tigers.
Basketball (Men) • Tayler Berryhill (Cleveland Central) matched the program record for most three-pointers made in a single game with 10 on the way to a career-high of 32 points against Mississippi Delta Community College as a freshman. Berryhill was one of Northeast’s primary point guards this season. He had a season-best five straight double-digit performances in the heart of conference play, including a 17-point effort versus Northwest Mississippi Community College.
Basketball (Women) • Maniya Kirksey (Tupelo) was well decorated during her final campaign with the Lady Tigers. She was a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-American and all-conference standout. Kirksey was one of the top five scorers in the state with 16.2 points per contest. She was even better against league opponents with an average of 19.6 points, including a career-best 31 points in a win over Southwest Mississippi Community College.
Cheerleading • Maddie Rogers (Mooreville) was one of nine sophomores on Northeast’s first co-ed cheer squad in well more than a decade. She and her teammates performed at home basketball, football and volleyball games.
Cross Country (Men) • Adam Galloway (West Union) was a member of the first two Northeast cross country teams. He recorded a time of 35:12.2 at the national championship in Richmond, Va., to close his freshman campaign. Galloway consistently averaged between 31 to 32 minutes in 8K races as a sophomore. He posted a season-best of 31:15.46 at the University of Tennessee Southern’s Firehawk Invitational.
Cross Country (Women) • Sunshine Fulgham (East Union) was Northeast’s top finisher in the five races that she participated in. She had a season-high seventh place result at the Freed-Speed Invitational. Fulgham set personal records of 21:03.3 in the 5K at the regional championship and 25:40.08 in the 6K at the Firehawk Invitational. Her 6K times were all within 17 seconds of each other.
Football • Walker Thompson (Amory) was named to the prestigious College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District® team for maintaining a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.5. Thompson got the starting nod at center for the Tigers in all but one game last fall. Northeast accounted for 29.7 points per contest thanks in part to his leadership on the offensive line.
Golf (Men) • Olof Behle (Löddeköpinge, Sweden) is the second international athlete in the last three years to win the Tiger Award. He represented the Tigers well as an individual at the national championship with a four-day total of 306. Behle earned a pair of medalist honors at the Tommy Snell Invitational and the gulf district championship. He won a thrilling five-man playoff at districts to secure his trip to nationals in Indiana.
Golf (Women) • Andie Kate Ramey (Booneville) made history at the end of the Lady Tigers’ inaugural season with a fourth place finish at the national championship to procure first-team All-American accolades. Ramey obtained medalist distinction three times, including at the Northeast Invitational in Corinth with a 3-over-par score. She never placed worse than seventh in any of the 11 events that she played in.
Softball • Chloe Skelton (Saltillo) stole the show for the Tigers at the region tournament. She went 9 for 14 with four home runs, eight RBI, six runs scored and four walks over five postseason contests. Skelton concluded her freshman campaign by reaching base safely in 18 of Northeast’s final 19 games. She belted a team-best 16 homers to go with a .426 batting average, a .523 on-base percentage and 50 RBI.
Volleyball • Sophie Johnson (Caledonia) was one of two captains for the Lady Tigers during their third season of competition. She led the team with 5.59 assists per set with a total of 676 over 35 matches. Johnson registered four double-doubles, including a 36-assist and 13-dig performance against Northwest Shoals (Ala.) Community College. She had more than 1,200 assists over her tenure at Northeast.
-Blake Long, Sports Information Director
-Northeast Mississippi Community College
-Booneville, MS
