2024-25 RRAC Etier Champions of Character Awards
Baylee Stautzenberger, Texas A&M-Texarkana
Jonathan Rios, Texas A&M-Texarkana

WACO, Texas – Baylee Stautzenberger and Jonathan Rios of Texas A&M University-Texarkana earned selection as the 2024-25 Red River Athletic Conference Etier Character Athletes of the Year as officially announced by the conference today.

Now in its ninth year, the award is given annually to one male and one female RRAC student-athlete who best represent the tenets of the NAIA Champions of Character program (respect, responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and servant leadership). To be eligible, student-athletes must be nominated by their respective RRAC member institution. All nominees were considered finalists, and the winners were selected in voting by the RRAC Champions of Character Committee.

The awards were posthumously named for Betty Etier, an NAIA and RRAC Hall of Famer, RRAC Eligibility Chair for 18 years, and an associate professor/faculty athletics representative at Huston-Tillotson University (Texas). Etier made a lasting impression on everyone involved in the RRAC and helped shape the conference from its beginning.

Stautzenberger, a senior softball player from Moran, Texas, earned a 3.82 GPA while completing her four-year education and working on her MBA in Management at TAMUT. She was named second-team all-conference this year. Always a team leader and supportive teammate, Stautzenberger encouraged her peers and initiated optional team activities and Bible studies. Her involvement also stretched to the broader athletic department as an assistant on gameday operations with the TAMUT sports information department for the last two years. Stautzenberger donates her time to multiple campus organizations which conducted a number of community service projects. She has also served on the TAMUT Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the RRAC Association of Student-Athletes. Stautzenberger plans on completing her MBA and exploring opportunities in sports business.

"Earning the RRAC Champion of Character Award is a testament to the kind of person Baylee Stautzenberger is every day," says TAMUT softball coach Tony McKnight. "She plays with heart, leads with humility, and serves with integrity—on and off the field. This honor is a reflection of who she is when no one's watching, and that's the true mark of a champion."

Rios, a senior baseball student-athlete from Socorro, Texas, posted a 3.93 GPA as an accounting major at TAMUT. He served as a team captain with a seat on the school's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a role as a Student Ambassador for the school. Rios participated in numerous community service events such as the "Soaring Tigers Program" in partnership with the Texarkana Independent School District. He and other teammates read to elementary school students and participated in other events with local schools. Rios was a university-wide "Scott Bruner Leadership" nominee twice while earning Accounting Student of the Year and being selected for the Eagle Aspire Group. Rios demonstrated his servant leadership while holding a work-study position with the baseball program which included responsibilities for team laundry,
grounds crew work and field maintenance. He also attended study halls to assist teammates with homework and academic projects. Rios plans to return to TAMUT as a coach while pursuing his master's degree.

"Jon is a walking example of what you look for in a student-athlete," says TAMUT baseball coach Chase Brewster. "He is obviously phenomenal on the field but, off the field, he is everything you could ask for also. He is our leader and our team captain. There were days when he hit fourth in the lineup for us and washed the uniforms - all in the same day. No task was too big or small for him. He was a big brother to so many of our younger players, and a first-year head coach's dream to be around. He made all our lives easier."

RRAC Etier Character Athlete of the Year Winners