TicketsCINCINNATI - The American Athletic Conference has announced its 2017-18 Male Scholar-Athletes of the Year with four University of Cincinnati Bearcats being selected for honors in their respective sports today, bringing the UC total to seven for the academic year.
The UC men earning honors this year include Connor McVey, the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Baseball, Davis Baxter, the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Golf, Adrian Valles, the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Indoor Track & Field, and Chris Bready, the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Swimming & Diving. Additionally, Valles was named the overall Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row. By being selected for these awards, each student-athlete will receive a $2,000 scholarship which may be applied to graduate or professional studies while Valles earned an additional $2,000 scholarship as the overall scholar-athlete of the year.
Starting this academic year, the American has selected one honoree from each sponsored sport (as well as at-large selections for member institutions in sports the AAC doesn't sponsor). In previous years, the conference had announced one recipient from each school, regardless of sport. The four men join three Bearcats women that were announced one day prior, a group that included Loretta Blaut (outdoor track & field), Vanessa Gilles (soccer) and Lauren Hudson (at-large/lacrosse). Overall, the Bearcats combined to collect seven honors this year with both Tulsa (two women, one man) and UCF (two women, one man) collecting the second-most of any school with three.
Valles is preparing for his final collegiate indoor meet this week as he will be in College Station, Texas, to compete in the pole vault once again. After recently winning his fourth-consecutive AAC indoor title and the seventh of this career at UC, Valles heads to the NCAA Championships ranked fourth nationally with a best of 5.61m, which also is a school record. A two-time IAAF World Championships competitor for his native Spain, Valles has been ranked among the Top 5 all year in the pole vault and is in search of his fourth-consecutive USTFCCCA All-America honor this week. A recipient of the NCAA Top 90 Award last year (top GPA among all male competitors at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2017), Valles has earned the overall AAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor for the second time in as many years, giving UC three in the first five years of the award as his former teammate Brian Barney won the honor for the 2014-15 season.
Baxter is a 2017 recipient of the University of Cincinnati Legion of Excellence award for the top grade-point average on the men's golf team. He also is a seven-time Dean's List and Bearcats Honor Roll awardee and three-time American Athletic Conference All-Academic team selection. So far this year, Baxter has finished 14th at 1-over par 217 at the Firestone Intercollegiate during the fall season and led the Bearcats with a 1-under 215, tying for 35th place at the All-American Intercollegiate earlier this spring.
Bready has held three Cincinnati school records (500 free, 1000 free, 1650 free) and set the AAC championship meet record in the 1650 free earlier this season. The senior earned his first trip to the NCAA championships last year where he finished in the top 25 in the mile swim and also competed in the 500 freestyle. Bready looks to improve on that finish at this year's men's NCAA swimming championships set to be held March 22-24. Out of the pool, he was named CSCAA Scholar All-America and AAC All-Academic Team at the conclusion of his junior season.
McVey has started every game for the Bearcats the past two seasons, including all twelve so far this year. With 190 career games played, he is quickly approaching UC's top ten. McVey already ranks fourth in sacrifice hits and fifth in stolen bases all-time at UC. He ranks in the top ten for Division I active career leaders in games played and stolen bases. The third baseman is hitting .286 this season with two doubles and two homeruns, bringing his career average up to .274. McVey graduated last spring with a degree in accounting and is currently enrolled in graduate school. He was named to the AAC All-Academic Team in 2017 and more recently was on the Dean's List with a 3.40 or higher GPA this past fall.
2017-18 AAC Male Scholar-Athletes of the Year (by sport) Baseball • Connor McVey (Cincinnati) Football • Auggie Sanchez (USF) Basketball • Obi Enechionyia (Temple) Cross Country • Adam Rodrique (Tulsa) Golf • Davis Baxter (Cincinnati) Indoor Track & Field • Adrian Valles (Cincinnati) Outdoor Track & Field • Michael Criticos (Memphis) Soccer • Matias Pyysalo (UCF) Swimming & Diving • Chris Bready (Cincinnati) Tennis • Constantin Schmitz (Tulane) At-Large • Eli Rischling (Memphis/Rifle) Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year • Adrian Valles, Cincinnati
The UC men earning honors this year include Connor McVey, the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Baseball, Davis Baxter, the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Golf, Adrian Valles, the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Indoor Track & Field, and Chris Bready, the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Swimming & Diving. Additionally, Valles was named the overall Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row. By being selected for these awards, each student-athlete will receive a $2,000 scholarship which may be applied to graduate or professional studies while Valles earned an additional $2,000 scholarship as the overall scholar-athlete of the year.
Starting this academic year, the American has selected one honoree from each sponsored sport (as well as at-large selections for member institutions in sports the AAC doesn't sponsor). In previous years, the conference had announced one recipient from each school, regardless of sport. The four men join three Bearcats women that were announced one day prior, a group that included Loretta Blaut (outdoor track & field), Vanessa Gilles (soccer) and Lauren Hudson (at-large/lacrosse). Overall, the Bearcats combined to collect seven honors this year with both Tulsa (two women, one man) and UCF (two women, one man) collecting the second-most of any school with three.
Valles is preparing for his final collegiate indoor meet this week as he will be in College Station, Texas, to compete in the pole vault once again. After recently winning his fourth-consecutive AAC indoor title and the seventh of this career at UC, Valles heads to the NCAA Championships ranked fourth nationally with a best of 5.61m, which also is a school record. A two-time IAAF World Championships competitor for his native Spain, Valles has been ranked among the Top 5 all year in the pole vault and is in search of his fourth-consecutive USTFCCCA All-America honor this week. A recipient of the NCAA Top 90 Award last year (top GPA among all male competitors at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2017), Valles has earned the overall AAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor for the second time in as many years, giving UC three in the first five years of the award as his former teammate Brian Barney won the honor for the 2014-15 season.
Baxter is a 2017 recipient of the University of Cincinnati Legion of Excellence award for the top grade-point average on the men's golf team. He also is a seven-time Dean's List and Bearcats Honor Roll awardee and three-time American Athletic Conference All-Academic team selection. So far this year, Baxter has finished 14th at 1-over par 217 at the Firestone Intercollegiate during the fall season and led the Bearcats with a 1-under 215, tying for 35th place at the All-American Intercollegiate earlier this spring.
Bready has held three Cincinnati school records (500 free, 1000 free, 1650 free) and set the AAC championship meet record in the 1650 free earlier this season. The senior earned his first trip to the NCAA championships last year where he finished in the top 25 in the mile swim and also competed in the 500 freestyle. Bready looks to improve on that finish at this year's men's NCAA swimming championships set to be held March 22-24. Out of the pool, he was named CSCAA Scholar All-America and AAC All-Academic Team at the conclusion of his junior season.
McVey has started every game for the Bearcats the past two seasons, including all twelve so far this year. With 190 career games played, he is quickly approaching UC's top ten. McVey already ranks fourth in sacrifice hits and fifth in stolen bases all-time at UC. He ranks in the top ten for Division I active career leaders in games played and stolen bases. The third baseman is hitting .286 this season with two doubles and two homeruns, bringing his career average up to .274. McVey graduated last spring with a degree in accounting and is currently enrolled in graduate school. He was named to the AAC All-Academic Team in 2017 and more recently was on the Dean's List with a 3.40 or higher GPA this past fall.
2017-18 AAC Male Scholar-Athletes of the Year (by sport) Baseball • Connor McVey (Cincinnati) Football • Auggie Sanchez (USF) Basketball • Obi Enechionyia (Temple) Cross Country • Adam Rodrique (Tulsa) Golf • Davis Baxter (Cincinnati) Indoor Track & Field • Adrian Valles (Cincinnati) Outdoor Track & Field • Michael Criticos (Memphis) Soccer • Matias Pyysalo (UCF) Swimming & Diving • Chris Bready (Cincinnati) Tennis • Constantin Schmitz (Tulane) At-Large • Eli Rischling (Memphis/Rifle) Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year • Adrian Valles, Cincinnati