Stanford's Keefe named Pac-12 Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Mar 8, 2023

LAS VEGAS - STANFORD's James Keefe was named the 2022-23 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Conference office announced ahead of the Pac-12 Tournament. The award, which is presented in each of the 24 sports the Pac-12 sponsors, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.

The senior from Los Angeles carries a 3.86 grade-point average in economics and has twice been named to the CoSIDA/CSC Academic All-District Team and Pac-12 Honor Roll as well as the NABC Honors Court in 2022.

Away from campus and the court, Keefe has completed two internships related to his economics degree in consecutive summers. In 2021, he was a Global Investment Analyst Intern with Nuveen NWQ Investment Management, where he generated investment ideas and offered insights in a buyside research framework to support Nuveen Investments' domestic and global value strategies within the healthcare and technology sectors. In 2022, he served as a Private Equity Summer Analyst, Real Estate, with KKR & Co. in San Francisco. There, he completed diligence on prospective investments, including comparable analysis and site visits, and built financial models and pitch decks for multiple deals, including presentations to senior management with recommendations.

The 6-9 forward has appeared in 103 career games for the Cardinal, averaging 3.4 points on 55 percent shooting and 3.2 rebounds. His contributions have increased as an upperclassman, with 33 starts and averages of 5.2 points on 59 percent shooting and 4.7 rebounds in 49 games the past two seasons. Keefe recorded his first double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Arizona State in the first round of the 2022 Pac-12 Tournament, a game highlighted by his game-winning basket at the buzzer.

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 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 2007-08 academic year.

ALSO NOMINATED: DJ Horne, Arizona State; Lars Thiemann, California; Quincy Guerrier, Oregon; Jamal Bey, Washington.