University of Alabama Announces Nominees For McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Scholarship

Two University of Alabama student-athletes received news on Thursday that they had been nominated for a prestigious scholar-athlete award.

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University of Alabama athletes are well-known for their achievements in each one of their respective fields of play. What some may not know is the majority of them excel in the classroom as well and that is the most important thing.

Two Crimson Tide athletes received news on Thursday that they had been nominated by the school for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship. For their performance in athletics as well as their studies, Alabama softball player Haylie McCleney and Alabama basketball’s Retin Obasohan will represent the Tide as finalists for the award.

Highlights from Alabama’s representatives that were compiled by the Southeastern Conference:

Retin Obasohan, Men’s Basketball, Alabama

· 2016 SEC Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year

· Received CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District honors, becoming the third player in program history to earn the honor

· Three-time member of SEC Academic Honor Roll (2013, 2014, 2015)

· Two-time SEC Community Service Team honoree (2014, 2015)

· Team captain in 2016 and started all 33 contests, finishing his career with 125 games played and 66 career starts

· First team All-SEC by the SEC Coaches and second team All-SEC by the AP (2016)

· First team NABC All-District and second team USBWA All-District (2016)

· SEC All-Defensive Team (2016)

· Scored 580 points during his senior season, which ranks 12th highest in a single year in program history

· Averaged 20.6 points per game in conference play, the first UA player to do so since Buck Johnson averaged 20.4 in 1986

· Finished with 1,176 career points which ranks 40th in the UA record books

· Ranks eighth in school history with 154 career steals

· Led the team in points, minutes, steals, field goals made (193) and attempted (410) and free throws made (146) and attempted (209)

Haylie McCleney, Softball, Alabama

· Two-time First Team Academic All-American (2014-15)

· 2016 Senior CLASS Award finalist

· 2015 Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for Division I Softball

· 2015 SEC Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year

· Two-time SEC Honor Roll (2014-15)

· Three-time All-American (2013-15)

· Four-time finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year (2013-16)

· Three-time All-SEC (2013-15)

· Just the second player in program history to be named First Team as both an All-American and Academic All-American in the same season

· Career leader at Alabama in batting average and on-base percentage. She also ranks in the top 10 in slugging percentage, hits, runs, triples, walks, stolen bases and stolen base percentage.

· Owns three of the top 10 single-season batting averages and on-base percentages in program history

· Set a single-season record at Alabama with a .588 on-base percentage as a junior in 2015

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The 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 two winners on April 28.

Each of the winners will receive a $15,000 post-graduate scholarship. The other 26 finalists will receive $7,500.