Logan Stump Named RSC Male Bill Melton Champion of Character

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio- The River States Conference is pleased to announce the selection of West Virginia University Institute of Technology baseball player Logan Stump as the 2023-24 Bill Melton Male Champion of Character recipient.

The RSC Bill Melton Champion of Character Award annually recognizes student-athletes for excellence in academics, athletics and the embodiment of the NAIA Champions of Character values. The award is named for former RSC (then called KIAC) Commissioner Bill Melton. It promotes and recognizes the core values of the NAIA Champions of Character program: Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Servant Leadership and Sportsmanship.

Nominated by their institution, candidates must be at least a junior with a 3.0+ GPA. Other considerations for the award are campus and community leadership, embracing the five core values and athletic achievement. The award was established in 2015-16, and the honoree is selected after a vote of the RSC Champions of Character Committee.

In submitting Stump for the award, WVU Tech head coach Lawrence Nesselrodt said his senior truly exemplifies the NAIA's core character values.

"The ingredients of integrity, sportsmanship, servant leadership, responsibility and respect describe Logan Stump, but additionally honest, hardworking, great sense of humor, charismatic and caring are reflective of his personality," Nesselrodt said. We always remind our team to 'leave it better than you found it' and Logan has exemplified that
statement.

Nominees for the Melton Award are also asked to submit an essay touching on the NAIA's five core character values. In his, Stump reflected on becoming a little league baseball coach during an injury he suffered at WVU Tech.

"Being a little league baseball coach, there is no better example of servant leadership," Stump wrote. "The kids, day in and day out, will test you; whether it be mentally or physically in practice. You have to put the kids first and make sure that they not only learn the game of baseball, but learn the respect, discipline, and work ethic that is essential in life as well."