All-American rightside hitter Shayla Scanlan (Plattsmouth, Neb.) and All-American guard BJ Shelton (Bakersfield, Calif.) were named the Bellevue University Athletes of the Year in an announcement made today in conjunction with the 45th Annual Bellevue University Athletic Banquet. In addition, senior right-handed pitcher Reid Feeley (Tehachapi, Calif.) and senior first baseman Alex Tooley (Bellevue, Neb.) were recognized as Bellevue University's Academic Athletes of the Year.
Shayla Scanlan
Despite playing the entire year with back issues and pain that greatly limited her practice and training time in the gym, Shayla Scanlan was the most dominant rightside attacker and blocker in the North Star Athletic Association and one of the best in the nation.
Scanlan helped guide the 2017 Bruins to a 30-13 overall record, advancing to the NAIA National Tournament for the 10th time in school history after finishing second in the NSAA Post-season Tournament.
BJ Shelton
BJ Shelton earned second-team NAIA All-American honors while guiding the Bruin men's basketball team to its third-straight NSAA Regular-Season title and its 16th-consecutive NAIA Division II National Tournament appearance.
Shelton, who led the Bruins in scoring for the second-straight season with 13.0 points per game, was named the North Star Athletic Association's Player of the Year and picked up first team all-NSAA accolades each for the second time in as many seasons.
A starter in all 31 games this season, Shelton recorded a 54.1 field goal percentage to rank third on the team. He averaged 4.6 rebounds per game to tie for the second-highest mark on the team.
He scored in double figures 19 times, including dropping in a career-high 32 points in a win at Presentation. In league play, Shelton averaged 15.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game as he shot 56.9 percent from the floor.
Alex Tooley
Alex Tooley, a senior majoring in biology, excelled on the field and in the classroom. She earned NSAA Scholar-Athlete honors three times during her Bruin career and was a two-time Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
On the field, Tooley was named to the NSAA Gold Glove team for the second-straight season. She batted .255 on the season with four home runs, two doubles, and 16 RBIs. Defensively, she committed just six fielding errors in 320 chances while helping turn 12 double plays. Tooley finished her Bruin career as the school's all-time leader in career putouts with 1,395 and double plays turned with 34.
Tooley plans to pursue a career in the medical field as a doctor.
Reid Feeley
Reid Feeley, a senior majoring in communication studies, has had a fantastic Bruin career both on and off the field. He has earned NSAA Scholar-Athlete honors in each of his two seasons at BU and this year will be a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
On the field, Feeley was a first team all-NSAA selection in 2018 after twice being named the league's Pitcher of the Week (Mar. 29, Apr. 2). He owns a 16-2 career record and 3.24 ERA over the course of 30 appearances (19 starts). In 141.2 innings on the hill, Feeley has struck out 148 batters and issued just 38 walks.
During the 2018 season, Feeley posted a 7-2 mark to go with a 3.03 ERA and struck out 75 batters against 15 walks in 71.1 innings of work.