Oregon's Hawkins named Pac-12 softball scholar-athlete of the year
SAN FRANCISCO - The Pac-12 has named OREGON’s Cheridan Hawkins the Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Conference office announced today. The award, which is presented in each of the 23 sports the Pac-12 sponsors, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.
Hawkins, a senior from Anderson, Calif., maintains a 3.82 grade point average (GPA) in Family and Human Services and marks Oregon’s first recipient of the honor for softball. Hawkins was a three time first team Pac-12 All-Academic honoree. The LHP helped the Ducks to four-straight league titles and earned three consecutive Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year nods. The recipient of 14 career Pac-12 weekly honors, Hawkins is a three-time NFCA All-American and a three-time Academic All-American. She became the first Pac-12 player since Arizona State’s Dallas Escobedo in 2014 and 15th league player overall to reach 1,000 career strikeouts.
In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season. The athletics accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in voting for the award.
A Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be named in each of the Pac-12’s 23 sponsored sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, beach volleyball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, men’s rowing, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling. The award was first established during the 2008-09 academic year.
Also Nominated: Lauren Young, ARIZ; Jennifer Soria, ASU; Bev Miller, OSU; Kayla Bonstrom, STAN;
Kimberlee Souza, WASH.