BARBOURVILLE, Ky. - The Union College Department of Athletics announced recently that junior Marty Popham and sophomore Brooke Smith were selected as the Male and Female Athletes of the Year for 2007-08.

Also being honored was senior Allison Fowler, who received the Danny Drinkard Award. The Danny Drinkard Award goes to the student-athlete who not only excels on the field of play but in the classroom and in the community as well.

Popham, a right-handed pitcher from Louisville, Ky., led the NAIA in wins with a 17-1 overall record. The right-hander posted a 2.27 earned-run average and set seven single-season records. The marks Popham set were for wins (17), games started (18), complete games (12), shutouts (3), innings pitched (123.0), strikeouts (133) and winning percentage (.944 with a 17-1 record).

In addition to the single-season records, Popham also holds the career marks for shutouts (4) and winning percentage (.852 with a 23-4 record).

Popham racked up the accolades in 2008 as well, earning NAIA All-American First Team, All-NAIA Region XII First Team, All-Appalachian Athletic Conference First Team and AAC Pitcher of the Year honors. Popham was selected in the 20th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Cleveland Indians.

Smith, a forward/center from Pineville, Ky., had a record-setting season in guiding Union to a share of the Appalachian Athletic Conference regular-season championship, the conference tournament title and a berth to the NAIA Division II National Championship Tournament. She also captured NAIA All-American Third Team honors as well as the Appalachian Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

Smith set the single-season records for points (778), field goals made (287) and free throws made (188). On Dec. 29, Smith set the single-game records for points (54) and field goals made (20) in a 127-116 victory over Berea (Ky.) College.

Only a sophomore, Smith ranks fifth on the Lady Bulldogs' all-time scoring list with 1,357 career points and sixth on the all-time rebounding list with 471 boards. She also has 110 career blocked shots to her credit.

With a 22.88 points-per-game average, Smith ended the season ranked third in NAIA Division II in scoring. In addition, she was 10th in field-goal percentage (.558) and 24th in blocked shots per game at 1.912.

Fowler, a guard from Morganfield, Ky., earned All-Appalachian Athletic Conference Second Team honors as she averaged 13.5 points and 3.82 rebounds per game and led the team with 137 assists and a school-record 94 steals. The 5-foot-7 guard earned Tournament MVP honors as she led Union to its second consecutive Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament championship, averaging 21.7 points per game.

Fowler ends her career ranked second in program history in points (1,427), assists (421) and steals (268) and ninth in rebounds (425).

A two-time Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete, Fowler became the first student-athlete in Union history to be named to a CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team as she landed on the 2008 ESPN the Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-America Women's Basketball College Division First Team.

To view the 2006-07 Athletes of the Year honorees, click here.