Dec. 3, 2013
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Senior Jarrod Polson was named a nominee for the second-annual National Association of Basketball Coaches AllState Good Works Team it was announced on Tuesday morning. The award recognizes a select group of college basketball student-athletes who have made significant contributions to the greater good of their communities through volunteerism and civic service.
The senior from Nicholasville, Ky., has logged more than 100 hours of service since his arrival on campus. Throughout his time with the UK men’s basketball team, Polson has coupled with his teammates in various service projects including the Salvation Army, Samaritan’s Feet, clothing drives, God’s Pantry BackPack program, a tele-a-thon for Hurricane Sandy relief, and various UK basketball camps. Furthermore, he has represented the men’s basketball team as its SAAC representative since the spring semester of 2013.
The summer following his junior season, he joined seven other UK athletes from various teams on a service trip for a week to Ethiopia. Polson contributed a blog post for UKathletics.com detailing his trip and what it meant to him: Here.
In addition to these projects, Polson is a member of Christian Student Fellowship where he has been active since his sophomore year. The past two years he has served as a leader to that group.
Outside of Lexington, Polson remains active in his hometown. He is a presence as a motivational speaker at both his former high school and middle school. At his high school he spoke in regards to motivating the students on the importance of the statewide CATS testing, while speaking to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at his middle school.
Polson graduated from Kentucky in May of 2013 with a BA degree in Business – Finance in just three years as a student at the University. He maintained a GPA of 3.472, and is now currently pursuing a second degree in Marketing while he completes his athletic eligibility.
He is a three-time Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll member, and has been a member of the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll on two occasions. In 2013, he was honored by the NABC as an Honors Court recipient. To receive recognition a student-athlete must be academically a junior or senior, own a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2012-13 academic year.
Allstate is proud to recognize the nominees who serve as a role models and inspirations to future generations seeking ways to give back, and another reason to celebrate the good happening in our communities.”
While jump shots and rebounds earn recognition on the hardwood, the Allstate NABC Good Works Teams help tell the stories of good taking place off the court that often go unnoticed. It is those players who demonstrate the exceptional ability to balance academics with athletics while donating their limited free time to serving others who have been nominated by their respective colleges and universities for this prestigious honor.
From the 117 NABC nominees, special voting panels will select two 10-member teams comprised of five student-athletes from the NCAA Division I level and five student-athletes from NCAA Divisions II, III and the NAIA. Former Duke University student-athlete, two-time NCAA champion and seven-time NBA All-Star Grant Hill will headline the Allstate NABC Good Works Team voting panel. The final roster of 20 award recipients will be unveiled in February.
