Cason Ayers receives Jimmy Russell award

Former McLennan men's golfer Cason Ayers has been named the 2025 Jimmy Russell Student-Athlete of the Year. The award, presented annually, recognizes the men's golfer who exemplifies academic excellence, good citizenship and outstanding play over the course of his NJCAA career.

Ayers, a Fort Worth native, helped lead the Highlanders to an eighth-place finish at the 2025 NJCAA Men's Golf Championship. He was named to the 2025 Academic All-District® College Division At-Large Teams by College Sports Communicators (CSC) and earned NJCAA All-Academic Third Team honors. He earned an Associate of Arts in General Academic in May and is continuing his education at the University of Arkansas.

To be nominated, student-athletes must be a sophomore at a NJCAA institution, having earned a minimum of 36 credit hours with a 3.2 GPA or higher, and demonstrate good citizenship, good character, community service, integrity and athletic excellence.

The award is named after Jimmy Russell, a Hall of Fame coach from Odessa College, who was instrumental in creating the NJCAA National Golf Championship and is considered a pioneer of NJCAA Golf. During his tenure at Odessa, Russell led the Wranglers to six NJCAA National Golf Championships.