SAN FRANCISCO – Jamie Ruden (women's basketball) and Kyle Williams (football) were two of 23 student-athletes who were named recipients of Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarships for the 2019-20 academic year, as announced by the league office on Monday.
The scholarships, worth $9,000 each, are awarded to up to two student-athletes from each Pac-12 school annually. These worthy student-athletes maintained a minimum 3.0 grade point average and demonstrated a commitment to education, campus and community involvement, and leadership.
Ruden played in 100 games over the last four seasons and maintained a perfect 4.00 GPA throughout her Sun Devil career. Known for her brilliant shooting, Ruden was a key contributor in helping ASU win 20 or more games each of the last four seasons, connecting on 63 career 3-pointers. Despite being limited due to injury, Ruden concluded the 2019-20 season fourth on the team in scoring. She concluded the regular season by tying her career high in scoring with 18 points in ASU's win over Cal. One of Ruden's most memorable performances came as a junior in 2019 when she came off the bench and scored a team-high 10 points in ASU's 57-55 win at Miami that propelled ASU into the NCAA Sweet 16. Off the court, Ruden earned both CoSIDA Academic All-District® VIII Second-Team and First-Team Pac-12 All-Academic recognition in 2018 and 2019. She was named to the Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll as a senior in 2020. In addition to earning her B.S. in Psychology in May, Ruden also completed pre-med requisites.
Williams (ASU's 2020 male Kajikawa Award recipient) enjoyed a productive career as a Sun Devil, catching a pass in 41 consecutive games which was tied for the third-longest streak in ASU history. He finished with the sixth-longest streak of games with a reception in the Pac-12 since 1996. Williams' 161 catches in his career puts him in seventh place on the ASU career receptions list. In each of his last three seasons, he reached the 40-catch mark. Williams utilized his time at ASU to prepare for a career in the medical profession as an alternative to professional football. The Biomedical Engineering major and member of ASU's prestigious Barrett, The Honors College, drew the attention and admiration of those locally and nationally when it was revealed in early 2018 he was interning at the Mayo Clinic under the guidance of Dr. Anikar Chhabra, the Team Orthopedic Surgeon for Arizona State University. Williams was named a Semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy prior to his senior season, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. He was a 2018 Academic Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team selection and 2019 Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll choice. Williams, who earned his degree in May, is currently in camp with the NFL's Tennessee Titans.
To be selected for a Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarship, a student-athlete must have:
• Maintained an overall undergraduate minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 (based on a 4.00 scale);
• Completed his/her final season of intercollegiate athletics eligibility in all sports or be in his/her final year of undergraduate study, having exhausted athletics eligibility in all sports;
• Been accepted to or already be enrolled as a full-time student in a graduate or professional program at an accredited institution, or in a postgraduate program for which an undergraduate degree is required for admission;
• Performed with distinction as a member of a varsity team; and
• Exemplified behavior, both in competition and beyond, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution, and intercollegiate athletics.
Student-athletes awarded this scholarship plan to pursue postgraduate education in best-in class graduate programs at some of the most prestigious institutions in the world, including several Pac-12 universities. They will study everything from medicine and law to business, dentistry, engineering, education, and more.
In 1999, the Postgraduate Scholarship Program was created to both honor and financially assist some of the Conference's most outstanding athletes and scholars as they continue their educations and prepare for careers in their chosen industries. The Pac-12 annually awards up to 24 scholarships of $9,000 each to former and graduating student-athletes across the conference. Through its institutional selection process, each Pac-12 institution may select two student-athletes to be awarded the scholarship.
The scholarships, worth $9,000 each, are awarded to up to two student-athletes from each Pac-12 school annually. These worthy student-athletes maintained a minimum 3.0 grade point average and demonstrated a commitment to education, campus and community involvement, and leadership.
Ruden played in 100 games over the last four seasons and maintained a perfect 4.00 GPA throughout her Sun Devil career. Known for her brilliant shooting, Ruden was a key contributor in helping ASU win 20 or more games each of the last four seasons, connecting on 63 career 3-pointers. Despite being limited due to injury, Ruden concluded the 2019-20 season fourth on the team in scoring. She concluded the regular season by tying her career high in scoring with 18 points in ASU's win over Cal. One of Ruden's most memorable performances came as a junior in 2019 when she came off the bench and scored a team-high 10 points in ASU's 57-55 win at Miami that propelled ASU into the NCAA Sweet 16. Off the court, Ruden earned both CoSIDA Academic All-District® VIII Second-Team and First-Team Pac-12 All-Academic recognition in 2018 and 2019. She was named to the Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll as a senior in 2020. In addition to earning her B.S. in Psychology in May, Ruden also completed pre-med requisites.
Williams (ASU's 2020 male Kajikawa Award recipient) enjoyed a productive career as a Sun Devil, catching a pass in 41 consecutive games which was tied for the third-longest streak in ASU history. He finished with the sixth-longest streak of games with a reception in the Pac-12 since 1996. Williams' 161 catches in his career puts him in seventh place on the ASU career receptions list. In each of his last three seasons, he reached the 40-catch mark. Williams utilized his time at ASU to prepare for a career in the medical profession as an alternative to professional football. The Biomedical Engineering major and member of ASU's prestigious Barrett, The Honors College, drew the attention and admiration of those locally and nationally when it was revealed in early 2018 he was interning at the Mayo Clinic under the guidance of Dr. Anikar Chhabra, the Team Orthopedic Surgeon for Arizona State University. Williams was named a Semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy prior to his senior season, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. He was a 2018 Academic Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team selection and 2019 Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll choice. Williams, who earned his degree in May, is currently in camp with the NFL's Tennessee Titans.
To be selected for a Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarship, a student-athlete must have:
• Maintained an overall undergraduate minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 (based on a 4.00 scale);
• Completed his/her final season of intercollegiate athletics eligibility in all sports or be in his/her final year of undergraduate study, having exhausted athletics eligibility in all sports;
• Been accepted to or already be enrolled as a full-time student in a graduate or professional program at an accredited institution, or in a postgraduate program for which an undergraduate degree is required for admission;
• Performed with distinction as a member of a varsity team; and
• Exemplified behavior, both in competition and beyond, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution, and intercollegiate athletics.
Student-athletes awarded this scholarship plan to pursue postgraduate education in best-in class graduate programs at some of the most prestigious institutions in the world, including several Pac-12 universities. They will study everything from medicine and law to business, dentistry, engineering, education, and more.
In 1999, the Postgraduate Scholarship Program was created to both honor and financially assist some of the Conference's most outstanding athletes and scholars as they continue their educations and prepare for careers in their chosen industries. The Pac-12 annually awards up to 24 scholarships of $9,000 each to former and graduating student-athletes across the conference. Through its institutional selection process, each Pac-12 institution may select two student-athletes to be awarded the scholarship.