St. Edwards Hilltoppers is a collegiate sports team of St. Edward's University, Austin, Texas. It represents the university in various intercollegiate sports at the NCAA Division II level. The Hilltoppers compete in numerous sports like baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and tennis.
The athletic program of St. Edwards University, including the Hilltopper teams, is managed by the Department of Athletics, a unit of Student Affairs. The department provides state-of-the-art facilities to its athletes, which includes sports complexes, training rooms, and fitness centers. Additionally, it hires top-quality coaches to lead each sport to the best of their abilities.
The men's soccer team of the Hilltoppers is the most successful program in the history of St. Edwards Sports. The team has achieved a record of six national championships, with five coming under head coach Brian Young, who led the program from 1999-2016. Many notable players have played for the Hilltoppers, including John-Ryan Gallagher, a former player of the US Youth National Teams, who currently plays for El Paso Locomotive FC in the USL Championship.
The women's volleyball program of the Hilltoppers is also on the rise, with all-conference players such as Sofia Tonga and Shelby Sheets leading the team. The women's basketball program is consistently competitive, with many conference accolades and honorable mentions to their name.
Besides soccer, basketball, and volleyball, Hilltopper athletics have seen individual athletes making noise, and excelling in their respective sports, such as Kaitlyn Rodriguez, a sprinter, who holds multiple school records in indoor and outdoor track and field, and delivered a stunning performance in 2018 to become the first-ever Hilltopper female athlete to win a national championship.
In recent years, St. Edwards has developed a strong rivalry with other universities in the Lone Star Conference such as the University of Texas at Tyler, Angelo State University, and Dallas Baptist University.
The Hilltoppers' Athletics teams have made a significant contribution to the St. Edwards community by providing students with opportunities to play their chosen sport at a collegiate level while pursuing academic excellence. Many Hilltopper athletes have gone on to represent their respective countries in national and international competitions.
In conclusion, the St. Edwards Hilltoppers is a formidable NCAA Division II program that has produced impressive results over the years. The Hilltoppers possess a rich history of notable achievements and top-notch facilities, underlining their commitment to producing high-quality student-athletes. It will be exciting to see how the Hilltoppers advance in the years to come and influence their rivals in the Lone Star Conference.