SoCon Announces 2026 Postgraduate Scholarships
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – UNC Greensboro's (UNCG)
Colton Sessoms of the men's soccer team was one of 10 postgraduate scholarship recipients for the 2025-26 academic year, The Southern Conference (SoCon) announced Wednesday.
The scholarships awarded annually, will be presented during the 2026 awards dinner at the J.W. Marriott Hotel Savannah Plant Riverside District in Savannah, Georgia, on Wednesday evening as part of the conference's spring meetings.
The 2025-26 honorees include: Richard Johnson Graduate Scholarship recipient Kerrington Mariah Johnson (Wofford); Dave Hart Scholarship recipient Brandon Maina (Wofford); Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship recipients Lena Dykes (Mercer) and
Colton Sessoms (UNCG); Dorothy Hicks Scholarship recipient Brianna Cantrell (ETSU); David Knight Scholarship recipient Taylor Waitley (Western Carolina); William V. Moore Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith recipient Darcy Nicholls (Samford); Ingles Presidential Scholarship recipient Landy Green (Western Carolina); and SoCon Presidential Scholarship recipients Fleming Dean (Samford) and Skylar Hilmer (Furman).
SoCon member schools submit nominations, and the recipients are selected by the SoCon Graduate Scholar Committee. The scholarships are worth $2,000 each and are awarded to student-athletes who plan to pursue degrees in graduate school or professional school. The nominees are evaluated in three areas: academics, athletics and community service.
Colton Sessoms – UNCG Men's Soccer Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship
UNCG men's soccer student-athlete
Colton Sessoms managed to excel in balancing academic achievement, athletic success and leadership while pursuing a degree in kinesiology with a psychology minor.
Over his four years as a Spartan, Sessoms played in 74 total games. He scored six goals and tallied six assists for 18 total points. He had one game-winning goal during his sophomore season, when UNCG defeated Charlotte, 2-1, on Sept. 9, 2023. This season, he scored a career-best three goals for a career-high nine points.
During his time with the Blue & Gold, the Spartans accumulated a 37-19-22 overall record and an 11-5-4 SoCon mark. He helped UNCG to two NCAA Tournament runs during his time, including an NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2022 and, most recently in 2025, a trip to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
He was selected to the SoCon All-Freshman Team in 2022 and earned multiple UNCG Chancellor's List honors. Sessoms was also named to the SoCon Fall All-Academic Team, received a SoCon Commissioner's Medal and was named to the 2025 and 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Teams.
Motivated by his experiences with injury rehabilitation as a student-athlete, he plans to pursue a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at Winston-Salem State University with aspirations of working in sports rehabilitation and outpatient orthopedics. Sessoms also served in team leadership roles and assisted in kinesiology research at UNCG's Physical Activity and Lifetime Wellness Laboratory, as well as physical therapy observation with Salem City FC.
