The 2025 recipients of the Dick Dhabalt Athlete of the Year Award at Lincoln Land Community College have been announced. The award winners are baseball's Ethan Hurst of Morton, IL and women's basketball Megan Harrell of Carthage, IL.
"Dick Dhabalt's vision shaped the foundation of our athletics program, but his greatest legacy lies in the personal impact he made on generations of students. Dick remembered every student, every stat, and every story. Long after his retirement, he remained a constant presence - cheering, mentoring, and supporting. His life reminds us that athletics is about more than wins; it's about people, and Dick never forgot that." – Karen Sanders VP, Advancement/Executive Director at Lincoln Land Community College.
Ethan Hurst was a sophomore infielder from Morton, IL who selected as the designated hitter for the Region 24 All-Region Team and 2nd Team All-Conference honors. He played in 52 games and batted .352. In 179 at-bats, he recorded 63 hits, including 11 home runs (50th in the country), 15 doubles, and two triples. He accumulated 115 total bases (54th in the country), was hit by a pitch 16 times (57th in the country), scored 60 runs (62nd in the country), and collected 54 RBIs (79th in the country).
"Ethan is a very talented baseball player and our team leader," said Steve Torricelli, head baseball coach. "As good of a player as Ethan is, he is an even better person."
Megan Harrell was a sophomore forward for the women's basketball team at LLCC. Her biggest accomplishment on the court was becoming a 1st Team All-American. Harrell averaged 15.3 points per game for the 2024-2025 season. In addition to leading the Loggers in scoring, Harrell led the team in rebounding at 8.4 rebounds per game. On the year Megan Harrell managed to record ten double doubles. Harrell finished the year with 585 points (17th in the nation) and 303 total rebounds (20th in the nation). Harrell was also named the NJCAA Region 24 women's basketball player of the year and making the All-Region Team. She also made the NJCAA 2025 Mid-West Athletic Conference All Conference Women's Basketball Team.
"Megan has been a team leader the past two seasons," said Chad Jones, head coach, LLCC women's basketball. "She is an excellent student as well."
The LLCC Dick Dhabalt Athlete of the Year Award recognizes annually one LLCC male athlete and one female athlete. The award was established in February 2015 in honor of Mr. Dhabalt, former athletic director, head men's basketball coach and faculty member, and acknowledges his dedication to education, athletics and students at LLCC.
