The Averett men’s basketball team received their championship rings on Wednesday, August 17th, 2022 at the athletics department’s ‘Welcome Back’ event held at Averett’s North Campus. Support poured out from their peers and coaches as the 2022 season team lined up on the court and were awarded their rings by Athletic Director, Meg Stevens, and Deputy Director of Athletics, Danny Miller. The Cougars ‘went dancing’ on February 26, 2022 when they defeated Covenant College by thirteen points in Lookout Mountain, Georgia to win the USA South Conference Tournament Championship. 

Corey Baldwin was a junior when he was named the USA South Tournament MVP. “It felt so amazing getting the rings,” Baldwin, now a senior, said, “once we received them it was like a testament to all of the hard work we put in that past year.” 

Jem Lowrance, a freshman at the time, experienced his first championship win as a Cougar. “Receiving our rings felt like a long awaited validation for our season last year. We went through so much on and off the court from the beginning of the year all the way to the end and getting to receive those rings in front of the student body was an incredible feeling and I will forever be grateful that I had the opportunity to do it with my brothers.” 

The 2023 men’s season will be their first year in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). Head coach David Doino has high hopes for the upcoming season. “We understand the challenges that come with playing in the ODAC; that is the reason we have played those teams every year I have been here at Averett University. Our job as a staff is to get everything out of our guys. To me, it does not matter what league we are in. We want our guys to be all about the team and giving us everything they have both physically and mentally,” Doino says.