19 Wildcats Earn 2023 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives Academic Excellence Award
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Nineteen current and former University of Kentucky student-athletes have been honored by the 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives Board with Academic Excellence Awards, it was announced recently.
This award recognizes outstanding student-athletes for their significant accomplishments in the classroom while competing at the highest level of college sports. The award is given annually to student-athletes who graduate with a cumulative GPA of 3.80 or above and have participated in at least two years of NCAA intercollegiate athletics at a Football Bowl Subdivision institution.
The 1A FAR Academic Excellence Award announcement continues the trend of strong academic news:
- The 2023 fall semester was the 23rd straight for UK Athletics with a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average as Wildcat scholarship student-athletes combined to achieve a GPA of 3.336. It was the second-highest GPA for a semester for UK Athletics.
- Eighty-four Wildcats were recently named to the 2023 Fall Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll for having a 3.0 grade-point average for the preceding academic year or a cumulative 3.0 GPA.
- Graduation marked yet another milestone of academic success as UK Athletics had a total of 168 graduates during the 2023 calendar year alone.
- Recently, UK tied the school record for its NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 92 percent, one point above the national average of 91 percent. All of UK’s teams surpassed the mandatory score for the NCAA Academic Progress Rate. UK’s overall APR rate was higher than the overall national average.
- In August, UK Athletics announced a school-record 12 Academic All-Americans for the 2022-23 school year from the College Sports Communicators organization.
UK Athletics supports the academic success of its student-athletes through CATS – the first academic center of its kind dedicated solely to serving student-athletes. CATS is an important component of UK’s Student-Athlete Experience division, launched as a renewal of the department’s commitment to prepare student-athletes to enter life after UK.
Kentucky’s 2023 1A FAR Academic Excellence Award Recipients
Raina Albores, Gymnastics
Maddie Berezowitz, Volleyball
Gillian Davey, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Kaitlin DeGuzman, Gymnastics
Braxton Eiserman, Football
Timothy Ellett, Men’s Swimming & Diving
Luis Grassow, Men’s Soccer
Ashlyn LaClair, Gymnastics
Shealyn Luksik, Gymnastics
Beth McNeese, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Maialen Morante, Women’s Tennis
Mitchell Nelson, Rifle
Beck O’Daniel, Men’s Track & Field
Peyton Rimko, Women’s Soccer
Adam Rosipal, Men’s Swimming & Diving
Morgan Southall, Women’s Swimming & Diving
Kennedy Sullivan, Softball
Isaac Walker, Men’s Soccer
Aaron Withrow, Men’s Track & Field & Cross Country
