Allen Hamilton, Avery Skinner Nominated for McWhorter Scholarship
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – University of Kentucky seniors Allen Hamilton of the men’s golf team and Avery Skinner of the national champion volleyball team have been nominated for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship.
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 SEC will name the 2021 recipients on May 18.
Hamilton has been a regular starter on the Kentucky men’s golf team with a pair of top-10 finishes. Skinner is an American Volleyball Coaches Association First-Team All-American and a member of the NCAA All-Tournament Team after helping UK win the program’s and the league’s first national title in the sport on Saturday.
Highlights of UK’s nominees include:
Allen Hamilton
Major: Finance and Economics
- Will graduate in May and owns a 3.893 grade-point average
- Three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member
- Eight-time Dean’s List selection
- N4A Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete of the Month, 2021
- Early Wave Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar, 2019-20
- Has volunteered with God’s Pantry and junior golf clinics
- Appeared in more than 20 events and played in more than 60 rounds in his career
- Has three career top-20 finishes and two top-10 finishes, including a career-best tie for fourth at the Bearcat Invitational in 2019
- Led the Wildcats in scoring and top-20 finishes his junior season
- Tied for second at the Genesis Open Collegiate Showcase where he played alongside PGA Tour member J.B. Holmes, just missing out on being the automatic amateur qualifier for the PGA Event
Avery Skinner
Major: Double major in Communication Studies and Disorders; Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education
- Carries a 3.91 GPA
- Helped lead Kentucky to the 2021 Volleyball National Championship and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team
- First-team AVCA All-American, All-Region and All-SEC
- Has helped lead Kentucky to four-straight SEC Championships
- Averaged 3.81 kills per set with a hitting percentage of .350
- Earned SEC Player of the Week honors and SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors, 2021
- Academic All-SEC selection
- Participated in mission trip to Ethiopia where she fed children, visited orphanages and hospitals.
- Has volunteered in the NICU at St. Joseph’s Hospital, UK Early Childhood Education Lab and the Lexington Hearing and Speech Center
- Had more than 100 kills during her career in NCAA Tournament play, including 64 in Kentucky’s run to the 2021 national championship – 33 of which came in the national semifinals and finals
Each year, the SEC provides the league’s male and female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete 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 league institutions.
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