The 10th annual Black and Gold Awards were held on Monday, April 15.
The Black and Gold Awards are held every year to celebrate and congratulate all the student-athletes on their successes in the school year. There were many awards including Men’s and Women’s Newcomer of the Year, Most Improved Athlete and Community Service.
But there is one award that takes it all, the Athlete of the Year Award.
For the women, the Athlete of the Year award was given to Sydney Campbell, a fifth-year senior pitcher on the OU softball team.
In 2023, Campbell was voted Horizon League pitcher of the year. She overall pitched 190 innings finishing 23 complete games and had an ERA of 1.89.
Continuing her success in the circle that season, she struck out 106 batters, only allowing 185 hits and had five shutout appearances. Campbell also holds the school record for career wins.
In 740 at-bats in the 2023 season, Campbell threw 160 strikeouts and only allowed 18 walks. She earned the NCFA All-Great Lakes Region (third team) and was Horizon League Pitcher of the Week in April, two weeks in a row.
Campbell had the best league and team ERA of 1.89 and even had a 0.93 against other teams in the Horizon League.
After first being nominated two years ago, Campbell wanted to win this award. “I know how much of an honor it is to be nominated, let alone win this award because there is so much amazing talent here in female athletics at OU. It was definitely surreal to hear my name called as the winner,” Campbell said.
Although she had a feeling she was going to be nominated, she wasn’t 100% sure she was going to win.
“I had a good feeling that I would be at least nominated for the award, as we have had a good year both as a team and individually. I was not completely sure that I would win it, but I stayed optimistic and was just waiting for the moment when my name was called,” Campbell said.
Even if it was a solo award, she made it known that it couldn’t have happened without the help of her team.
“My first memory is hearing my name called and then the cheers from all of my teammates that surrounded me,” Campbell said. “We play a team sport, and I am just a fraction of the team that competes in every game. None of the success would be possible without them having my back and picking me up with each play. Honestly, our entire team deserves to be nominated for Female Athletes of the Year.”
Campbell had a stellar season last year, but her work is far from over.
Campbell was also listed on D1’s Top 100 preseason player list, ranking at number 37. During this season, she is already at 86 strikeouts and has an ERA of 1.90.
She also has had a season-high of eleven strikeouts against Central Michigan University and allowed zero hits against Detroit Mercy University.
