NEW ORLEANS (October 2, 2025) – Easton Royal, the star wide receiver for the Brother Martin football team, has been selected as September's Allstate Sugar Bowl Athlete of the Month presented by LCMC Health. Athletes of the month have been selected by the New Orleans Sports Awards Committee since 1957. The athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region to be eligible. Royal is the first Crusader football player to win the honor since Bruce Jordan-Swilling was recognized in September of 2015.
 
Allstate Sugar Bowl Athletes of the Month
 
Royal had a sensational month of September as he tallied 27 receptions for 622 yards – 155.5 yards per game and 23.0 yards per reception – and 10 touchdowns (eight receiving, two rushing) in four wins for the Crusaders. His biggest game came on Sept. 12 when he had nine receptions for 254 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-27 win over St. Paul's – his TD catches went for 11 yards, 73 yards, and 81 yards and he also threw for a six-yard touchdown. In the season opener on Sept. 5, he had one touchdown catch but also ran for a pair of scores in a 29-22 comeback win over East Ascension. He had six catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns (53 and 29 yards) in a 38-26 road win over New Hope (Miss.) on Sept. 19. His final effort of September saw him snag eight passes for 172 yards and two more TDs (a 60-yard TD catch on first play from scrimmage and a 38-yard second-half TD grab) in a hard-fought 31-29 win over rival Jesuit.
 
The 6-1, 195-pound junior has established himself as one of the top receiver recruits in the country.
 
"Me and my coaches know teams are going to try to take me away," Royal told Nola.com. "They're game-planning different ways to get me the ball instead of always lining me up at receiver."
 
"It's fun," Royal said about the attention he has drawn from opposing defenses. "It really challenges me to be able to go out there and still play good, because at the end of the day you've still got to play football."
 
Royal was selected for the September award over another star high school football player, one college football standout, a college soccer star, and three exceptional college volleyball players.

• Avery Burks has led the Tulane volleyball team to a 9-4 overall record to open the 2025 season, its best start since 2019. She paces the team with 227 kills (second in the American with 4.52 kills per set) and also has 140 digs and 11 blocks. The junior from Arizona has recorded double figures in kills in 12 of 13 matches, including six 20-kill performances. She has also recorded seven double-doubles (kills-digs) on the year.
• Vashaun Coulon had a huge month at quarterback for St. Augustine High School. In four convincing victories, the senior completed 46-of-60 (77%) passes for 871 yards and 16 touchdowns with just one interception. He also had 14 carries for 137 yards and another TD. In a 68-40 win over Legacy School of Sport Sciences (Texas) on Sept. 20, Coulon completed 14-of-20 passes for 278 yards and seven touchdowns as well as a two-point conversion. For that performance, he was named the GNO QB Club, 106.7 The Ticket, CrescentCitySports.com and Friday Night Football Player of the Week in metro New Orleans, as well as earning a Manning Award Futures selection.
• Kolbe Fields, the Conference USA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, helped Louisiana Tech to its first 3-0 home start since 2019. The Archbishop Rummel grad was named the CUSA Defensive Player of the Week after recording his first career interception return for a touchdown (45-yard return) to go with a team-high nine tackles, including a half sack, in a 30-20 win over Southern Miss on Sept. 20. The senior linebacker leads Louisiana Tech with 39 tackles including three tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.
• Megan LaCour, a junior for the Belhaven volleyball team and a graduate of Archbishop Chapelle, was a first-team all-conference performer for the Blazers in 2024. She has continued her excellence this season as she posted 10 double-digit kill efforts in 13 September matches. For the season, she leads Belhaven with 159 kills (next best is 82) which ranks second in the Collegiate Conference of the South. She also has 133 digs and nine blocks.
• Iman Ouedraogo, a junior for the Xavier University of Louisiana men's soccer team, had three goals and five assists in three September games in which Xavier went 2-1. He scored the first two goals and had an assist on Sept. 3 when Xavier won 4-0 at No. 8 William Carey -- Xavier became the first visiting team since 2013 to score four times at William Carey. The victory at William Carey helped move the Gold Rush into the NAIA top 25 for the first time. Xavier is No. 18. He broke Xavier's game record when he had four assists Sept. 25 in a 6-0 home victory against Texas College.
• Belén Puche Laguna has been a key to Loyola's 15-6 start to its volleyball season – the Wolf Pack only won 12 matches total last season. The junior from Sevilla, Spain, has won multiple Setter of the Week awards for the Southern States Athletic Conference and she leads the Wolf Pack with 388 assists. She also leads the NAIA with 55 service aces and has collected 149 digs, second on the team. Laguna is in her second season playing for the Wolf Pack.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 110 Hall of Fame players, 55 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 91-year history. The 92nd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will serve as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2026. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit www.AllstateSugarBowl.org.