Arizona's Harper named 2021 Pac-12 Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year
PAC-12 SCHOLAR-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
SAN FRANCISCO - ARIZONA’s Jessie Harper has been named the 2021 Pac-12 Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Conference office announced today. The award, which is presented in each of the 24 sports sponsored by the Pac-12, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their respective sports disciplines.
Harper, who completed her undergraduate studies in sociology last spring with a 3.71 GPA, is currently enrolled in Arizona’s master’s in educational leadership program and has a 4.00 GPA in her graduate coursework. A 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-American and two-time Academic All-District honoree, Harper was on the Conference's Spring Academic Honor Roll in 2020 and was a first-team Pac-12 All-Academic honoree in 2019.
A two-time All-American on the diamond, Harper ranks fourth in NCAA history with 89 career home runs, and is currently the active NCAA leader in both home runs and RBI (246). She has started all 256 games in which she's played for the Wildcats and is a four-time All-Pac-12 First Team selection. Entering her final postseason, Harper holds a career .338/.397/.741 slash line. Arizona earned the No. 11 overall seed in the 2021 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament and will host the Tucson Regional beginning on Friday, May 21.
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 is named in each of the Pac-12’s 24 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, women’s lacrosse, 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: Olivia Miller, ARIZONA STATE; Missy Nunes, OREGON STATE; Teaghan Cowles, STANFORD; Bubba Nickles, UCLA; Alyssa Barrera, UTAH; Noelle Hee, WASHINGTON.