MacGinnis, Rice Nominated for McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Scholarship

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Austin MacGinnis of the Kentucky football team and Alyssa Rice of the Wildcat women’s basketball team 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 2018 recipients of the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship on April 26.
 
Highlights of Kentucky’s nominees include:
 
AUSTIN MacGINNIS, Football, Kentucky
Major: Finance (Master’s in Business Administration)

• Campbell Trophy semifinalist as National Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2017
• CoSIDA Academic All-District Team
• Four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member
• Graduated in May of 2017 with degree in Finance
• Currently working on Master’s degree in Business Administration at UK’s Gatton College of Business and Economics
• Set to graduate in just one year (May) with his MBA; taking 22 graduate hours this semester while preparing for the National Football League
• Ended stellar career as UK’s all-time leading scorer with 359 points, one of the top-10 scorers in SEC history
• As a senior, made school-record 22 field goals and led SEC in field goals made per game (1.69 per game)
• Ranks eighth in SEC history in career field goals made (72)
• Holds school records for career field goals made (72), most field goals made in a season (22 in 2017), consecutive field goals made (11, twice) and longest field goal (54 yards)
• Had game-winning field goals of 47 and 51 yards in his career
• All-SEC Third Team in 2017
• Lou Groza Award Watch List in 2016 and 2017

ALYSSA RICE, Women’s Basketball, Kentucky
Major: Accounting

• Model student-athlete both on and off the court during her time in Lexington with a 3.938 cumulative GPA
• 2018 SEC Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year (shared with two other players)
• Will graduate in May with a degree in Accounting and minors in Communication and Psychology
• Two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree
• Three-year member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll
• Tabbed SEC’s representative on NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Competition Committee
• Participated in the NCAA Autonomy Five Meeting and SEC Spring Meetings
• Voted by her peers in the SEC as chair of the SEC Women’s Basketball Leadership Council
• On the court, played in 125 career games with 75 starts
• Saved best season for last as she averaged a career-best 6.6 points with 5.8 rebounds per game and a team-best 36 blocks as a senior
• Ended career with 93 blocked shots, which ranks ninth in program history
• Had two double-doubles as a senior and posted 10 or more points in seven games
• Named to SEC Community Service Team in 2017 and traveled during summer of 2017 with other UK athletes on service trip to Panama

Each year, the SEC, in conjunction with AT&T, an SEC official sponsor, provides the league’s male and female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship recipients with a $20,000 post-graduate scholarship. The 26 remaining male and female finalists for the award will also receive a $10,000 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 early June.

Last year’s McWhorter Award recipients were University of Alabama swimmer Anton McKee and Texas A&M University swimmer Sarah Gibson.