The Nashville Sounds Baseball Club and Nashville Sounds Foundation are excited to launch a new program set to reward four scholarships to area high school students.

The program is designed to award four deserving Nashville and Middle Tennessee graduating high school seniors who plan to attend college in the fall of 2016. Each recipient will be awarded with a scholarship of $2,500 to be used for their college tuition.

“We’re very proud of this scholarship program that has been fueled by the many fundraising initiatives of our community relations team dating back to Opening Day of 2015. Our fans that populate First Tennessee Park deserve praise for making the Nashville Sounds Foundation a reality with their efforts. This is just the beginning of something we expect will grow by leaps and bounds in future years,” said Garry Arthur, Sounds General Manager and COO.

Interested seniors must complete the application process at www.nashvillesounds.com. The process includes submitting a two to three-page essay describing personal experiences that have helped the student evolve and at least two letters of recommendation from teachers and/or coaches. The scholarship will be awarded based on a culmination of the student’s school work, extracurricular activities and involvement in the community.

Applications must be submitted to the Nashville Sounds no later than February 15, 2016. The scholarships are scheduled to be awarded during the first homestand of the season.

The 2016 season will be the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. The Sounds begin the season at First Tennessee Park when they host the Oklahoma City Dodgers on Thursday, April 7 at 6:35 p.m. Season ticket memberships are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.

About the Nashville Sounds Foundation:
The mission of the Nashville Sounds Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, is to positively impact the thriving Middle Tennessee community through various programs and initiatives. The Nashville Sounds Foundation supports programs that energize and influence youth through education, physical development and by maximizing community service.

The Nashville Sounds Foundation is funded through monetary donations, private entities, memorabilia auctions and in-game custom public address announcements.

Freshman JaQualis Matlock has been a strong post presence for the Motlow Bucks through the first half of the season, averaging 7.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and one blocked shot per game. Jeff Reed Photography.

The Motlow Bucks will begin the second half of their basketball season tied at the top of the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA) standings with a legitimate opportunity to win the conference regular season and/or tournament title and make an appearance in the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament in J.T. Burton’s first season as head coach.

The Bucks (13-3, 6-1) ended the first half of the campaign with an 80-71 win over TCCAA rival Roane St. on Dec. 5 in Harriman. Their next conference game will be Friday, Jan. 15, when Southwest Tennessee visits Copperweld Arena for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff. The Saluqis (12-3, 6-1), coached by former Motlow head coach Jerry Nichols, are tied with the Bucks for first place in the TCCAA standings.

Motlow will get one opportunity to prepare for the first-place showdown against Southwest with a non-conference home game against the Martin Methodist College JV team on Monday, Jan. 11. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Copperweld Arena.

The Bucks are led by sophomore Jaylen Barford, who leads the nation in scoring with a 27.8 points-per-game average. With his final bucket against Roane St. in December, Barford became only the seventh player in Motlow men’s basketball history to score 1,000 career points. The Jackson native is also fifth in the nation in steals with 46, and averages 7.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.9 steals per contest.

Barford is joined in double-figure scoring average by Darius Joell at just over 13 points per game. Jared Pearson, Stephaun Adams, Ryan Jones and JaQualis Matlock each average more than seven points per contest.

Matlock, a freshman from Hopkinsville, Ky., leads the team averaging almost nine rebounds per game with Pearson close behind at 7.8. Adams has been the top assist man for the Bucks, dishing out 6.1 per contest with Jones close behind Barford at 4.1. Adams closely trails Barford in steals with 2.7 per game, and Matlock is the team leader in defensive rejections, averaging a blocked shot each game.

As a team the Bucks are averaging 83.3 points per game offensively while only allowing their opponents to score 58.3. Motlow has out-rebounded the opposition 46.6-25.4 and has shared the ball extensively, averaging 19.7 assists per game.

One significant change that Motlow basketball fans should take note of heading into the second half of the season is the men’s and women’s starting times will be reversed during conference games, with the men tipping off first at 5:30 p.m. on weeknights and 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The women will follow at 7:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. The time swap begins with the non-conference games on Jan. 11.

Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics at <Facebook/MotlowSports> and <Twitter@MotlowSports>.