McKillop Shoves, Katz Mashes To Earn Student-Athletes Of The Week

MACON – The diamond sports dominated this week's Mercer Student-Athletes of the Week with Chris Katz and Grace McKillop receiving the honors.

McKillop, a junior from Issaquah, Washington, picked up two wins in last week's Mercer Softball Invitational. McKillop began the tournament in the circle against Western Kentucky where she struck out three batters over four innings to pick up her third win of the season. She followed it up with a complete game against Army. McKillop threw all seven innings, picked up another three strikeouts and limited the Black Knights to just three runs off six hits.

Katz, a senior transfer from Wake Forest, made a mark in his Mercer debut. The outfielder went 3-for-5 from the plate in his first game in Macon, including a walk-off home run to secure the Bears' 4-3 win over Troy on opening day. Katz picked up a pair of base knocks and drew a pair of walks in the following two games to maintain a three-game hitting streak and finish his first weekend as a Bear with a 1.167 OPS.

Both McKillop and Katz will be in action tonight as Mercer's softball and baseball teams prepare for mid-week matchups. Softball plays Georgia Southern at Sikes Field while baseball plays Georgia State at OrthoGeorgia Park. Both games are scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m.

2025-26 MERCER STUDENT-ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Week Ending	Male Honoree	Female Honoree	Official Release
February 18	Chris Katz, Baseball	Grace McKillop, Softball	February 18
February 11	Michael Frederick, Lacrosse	Avery Barton, Softball	February 11
February 4	Zaire Williams, Basketball	Ines Hömberg Fernandez, Tennis	February 4
January 28	Baraka Okojie, Basketball	Marina de Diego Quinones, Tennis	January 28
October 6	Braden Atkinson, Football	Marie Bannmeyer, Tennis	October 6
September 28	CJ Miller, Football	Katie Scheck, Golf	September 29
September 21	Braden Atkinson, Football	Sammi Bergjans, Volleyball	September 22
September 14	Andrew Zock, Football	Nikki Harris, Cross Country	September 15
September 7	Henry Hampshaw, Soccer	Morganne Eikelbarner, Soccer	September 8

McKillop Shoves, Katz Mashes To Earn Student-Athletes Of The Week

Players Mentioned

Avery Barton

Chris Katz

Grace McKillop

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