BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A total of 84 University of Kentucky student-athletes earned a place on the 2023 Fall Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll, announced Thursday by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.
The 2023 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll is based on grades from the 2023 Spring, Summer and Fall terms. UK had nine representatives from men’s cross country, eight from women’s cross country, 34 from football, 11 from men’s soccer, 13 from women’s soccer and nine from volleyball. Among other qualifications, a student-athlete must have a 3.0 grade-point average for the preceding academic year or a cumulative 3.0 GPA in order to be named to the list.
Earlier this year, UK Athletics announced that the 2023 fall semester was the 23rd straight for the department with a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average as Wildcat scholarship student-athletes combined to achieve a GPA of 3.336. The scholarship student-athlete GPA marks the second highest for a semester for UK Athletics, finishing just behind the record set in the spring of 2020 and just above of the previous second highest in the spring of 2023. The 3.534 cumulative GPA in the spring of 2020 – fueled in part by the pass/fail policy enacted campus-wide in response to challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic – surpassed the previous record of 3.210 set in spring 2014.
In addition to the academic success, Kentucky teams also had success on the fields and courts of competition in the fall. Men’s soccer had an 8-8-4 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Volleyball went 21-8 and won its seventh-consecutive SEC championship, advancing to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Football went 7-6 and extended its school-record streak of eight straight bowl appearances. Women’s cross country finished 17th at the NCAA Regional and the men were 14th at the regional. Women’s soccer went 9-4-6, advanced to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals and spent a portion of its season ranked inside the top-25.
UK’s high fall GPA and SEC Honor Roll honors continue the trend of strong academic news:
- 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 – Sport – Major
Jake Allen – Men’s Cross Country – Accounting and Finance
Alex Alston – Men’s Cross Country – Marketing
Miles Brush – Men’s Cross Country – Psychology
Blake Byer – Men’s Cross Country – Neuroscience
Cade Byer – Men’s Cross Country – Mechanical Engineering
Alex Justus – Men’s Cross Country – Finance and Accounting
Ethan Kern – Men’s Cross Country – Finance
Harper Moore – Men’s Cross Country – Kinesiology
Jackson Watts – Men’s Cross Country – Human Health Sciences
Ally Kruger – Women’s Cross Country – Kinesiology
Bryanna Lucas – Women’s Cross Country – Health Administration
Phoebe McCowan – Women’s Cross Country – Human Health Sciences
Mollie Roden – Women’s Cross Country – Political Science and Marketing
Anna Rupp – Women’s Cross Country – Communication
Jenna Schwinghamer – Women’s Cross Country – Kinesiology
Lauren Smith – Women’s Cross Country – Human Health Sciences
Julz Williams – Women’s Cross Country – Social Work
Alex Afari, Jr. – Football – Communication
Brenden Bates – Football – U.S Culture and Business Practices
Isaiah Beasley – Football – Social Work
Tanner Bowles – Football – Financial Planning
Jase Bruner II – Football – Finance
Jager Burton – Football – Communication
Eli Cox – Football – Sport, Fitness, & Recreation Management
Izayah Cummings – Football – Management
Jordan Dingle – Football – Clinical Leadership & Management
Jamarius Dinkins – Football – Communication
Luke Fulton – Football – Marketing
Dylan Gary – Football – Integrated Strategic Communication
Maxwell Hairston – Football – Community & Leadership Development
Deuce Hogan II – Football – Community & Leadership Development
D’Eryk Jackson – Football – Leadership Studies
Ramon Jefferson – Football – Kinesiology & Health Promotion
Josh Kattus – Football – Communication
Dane Key – Football – Communication
Cole Lanter – Football – Community & Leadership Development
JuTahn McClain – Football – Community & Leadership Development
Jack Monday – Football – Finance
Jarard Mosely – Football – Finance
Clay Perry – Football – Management and Marketing
Chance Poore – Football – Finance
Jordan Robinson – Football – Communication
Paul Rodriguez – Football – Integrated Strategic Communication
Kaiya Sheron – Football – Communication
Jackson Schulz – Football – Communication
Jackson Smith – Football – Career & Technical Education and Agricultural Economics
Martez Thrower – Football – Communication
Jack Varga Jr. – Football – Business Administration and Business Analytics
Keaten Wade – Football – Communication
Jai Williams – Football – Architecture
La’Vell Wright – Football – Communication
Aboubacar Camara – Men’s Soccer – Communication
Brennan Creek – Men’s Soccer – Communication
Ben Damge – Men’s Soccer – Finance and Accounting
Andrew Erickson – Men’s Soccer – Marketing and Communication
Casper Grening – Men’s Soccer – Management
Ryan Jack – Men’s Soccer – Communication
Max Miller – Men’s Soccer – Management
Casper Mols – Men’s Soccer – Economics
Martin Soereide – Men’s Soccer – Finance
Mason Visconti – Men’s Soccer – Kinesiology & Health Promotion
Mathias Yohannes – Men’s Soccer – Finance
Dana Dahm – Women’s Soccer – Marketing
Maddie Eastman – Women’s Soccer – Marketing
Katelyn Fishnick – Women’s Soccer – Biology
Mallory Glass – Women’s Soccer – Psychology
Maggy Henschler – Women’s Soccer – Business Administration
Taya Hjorth – Women’s Soccer – Kinesiology
Lesley Kiesling – Women’s Soccer – Counselor Education
Tallulah Miller – Women’s Soccer – Finance and Management
Jordyn Rhodes – Women’s Soccer – Kinesiology & Health Promotion
Stephanie Stull – Women’s Soccer – Business Administration and Business Analytics
Ulfa Ulfarsdottir – Women’s Soccer – Mathematical Economics
Hadley Williams – Women’s Soccer – Business Analytics
Anna Young – Women’s Soccer – Kinesiology
Eleanor Beavin – Volleyball – Journalism
Elise Goetzinger – Volleyball – Chemistry
Emma Grome – Volleyball – Kinesiology
Lane Jenkins – Volleyball – Management; Marketing
Erin Lamb – Volleyball – Business Administration
Haley Melby – Volleyball – Elementary Education
Reagan Rutherford – Volleyball – Management
Riah Walker – Volleyball – Management; Marketing
Audrey Whitworth – Volleyball – General Business