Vialpando Named SCAC Character & Community Athlete of the Week

Austin College senior baseball player Davin Vialpando, a pitcher from Longmont, Colo., has been selected the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Character and Community Male Student Athlete of the Week for the week beginning February 17. The SCAC Character & Community award honors the efforts of student-athletes who excel in the field of athletics, and also serve their campus and community.

Though he didn't begin his collegiate career at Austin College, Davin quickly established himself as a leader and integral part of the 'Roo athletics community following after transferring in from Nebraska Wesleyan. A senior pitcher on the Austin College baseball team, the Longmont, Colo., native has become a leader both vocally and by example, and has taken on the role as one of the Austin College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's co-presidents, alongside senior volleyball player Mattie Duncan.

With Davin's leadership, the Austin College SAAC has seen a dramatic uptick in student-athlete activity and support across all of the department's sports. This year, the SAAC has created brother-sister teams to increase engagement both at home games and in supporting teams heading out on the road, and last fall saw the biggest turnout for a SAAC-organized event in more than a decade when Davin took the helm in organizing an athletics social to help foster a sense of community. He also helped to organize a hot chocolate social prior to a home basketball doubleheader this winter that also served as a canned food drive, collecting more than 100 cans of goods to donate to the local Salvation Army.

This spring, Davin also led the SAAC's effort in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's Change for the Better initiative, collecting donations for Reba's Ranch House, an organization founded by country music star Reba McEntire – a native of the Texoma region of north Texas and southern Oklahoma – that provides housing and supplies for the families of patients receiving treatment for serious conditions at Texoma Medical Center. That fundraising effort resulted in nearly $500 to be given to the charity.

Davin's efforts haven't been limited only to his time working with the Austin College SAAC, as he's also worked with St. Vincent DePaul, a charitable organization that assists those in need with food, clothing, and other much-needed supplies. Davin has also been a model student-athlete when it comes to balancing sports and academics, being recognized on the SCAC Academic Honor Roll and as a member of the Austin College Dean's List. A kinesiology major with a minor in education, Davin has also worked with children both in Sherman and back home in Colorado, serving as an instructor for youth baseball and student-teaching at both Sherman Middle School and Sory Elementary.