April 21, 2014

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., – Soccer player Tyler Riggs and rifle shooter Emily Holsopple have been nominated for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship by the University of Kentucky.

The H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship has been presented by the Southeastern Conference since 1986 to the league’s top male and female scholar-athletes.  

The Southeastern Conference will name the 2014 recipients of the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship on May 6.

Highlights of Kentucky’s nominees include:

Tyler Riggs, Soccer

• Mechanical Engineering major scheduled to graduate May 2014
• Earned two first-team Academic All-America honors with a 3.93 cumulative GPA 
• Candidate for the Senior CLASS Award in 2013
• Netted the second-most goals (29) in program history, while ranking fifth in points (68), sixth in shots (144) and sixth in game-winning goals (seven)
• First player in UK history to lead the team in scoring in each of his four seasons
• Helped lead UK to its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2003 in 2012, with UK earning a hosting bid
• Led UK in goals in both junior (7) and senior (6) seasons
• Three-time All-Conference USA selection
• In 2013, Riggs made history by charting the ninth hat trick in school history in a senior day win over Florida Atlantic
• Named a national or conference player of the week a total of 10 times in his decorated career 
• Named national player of the week by the NSCAA and College Soccer News twice

Emily Holsopple, Rifle

• Biology major scheduled to graduate May 2014
• Excelled in the classroom, boasting a 3.41 GPA 
• Led the University of Kentucky rifle team to top-three finishes every year at the NCAA Championships, including two runner-up finishes and the program’s first national championship in 2012
• Honored by the Southeastern Conference in her first three years for her academic performance
• Member of SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll in 2010-11 
• Member of SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll sophomore and junior seasons
• Recognized by Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association as part of the all-academic team in her first three years on campus
• Has spent numerous hours in service, volunteering at the Salvation Army, United Way and packing meals for Haiti
• Spent 10 days in Ethiopia during the summer of 2012 on a service/educational trip with other UK student-athletes, working with a church at a leper colony and helping at local orphanages
• Named first-team All-American all four years at UK, three times in smallbore and three in air rifle
• Selected to inaugural Lapua Coaches Association First Team All-America, recognizing her as one of the five best aggregate shooters in the country
• Named Great America Rifle Conference Shooter of the Year in 2014

Each year, the SEC, in conjunction with AT&T, an SEC Corporate Champion sponsor, provides the league’s male and female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship recipients with a $15,000 post-graduate scholarship.  The 26 remaining male and female finalists for the award will also receive a $7,500 post-graduate scholarship.  

The award recipients are chosen by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from the 14 SEC institutions and are honored at the SEC Spring Meetings in Sandestin, Fla., in late May.

Last year’s McWhorter Award recipients were Barrett Jones of the Alabama football team and Chelsea Oswald of the Kentucky track & field team.