SEATTLE – OREGON STATE’s Sydney Wiese was named the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Conference office announced on Friday. The award, which is presented in each of the 23 sports the Conference sponsors, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.

Wiese is majoring in speech communication and currently holds a 3.66 cumulative GPA. She is a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic second team honoree and one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, a national award presented to student-athletes who have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. 

As part of her speech communication coursework, she has collaborated with Oregon State gymnastics student-athlete Megan Jimenez to launch a web series that spotlights student athletes, and has served as the PA announcer at multiple Oregon State events. Wiese has also worked extensively in the community, donating her hair in a special “Haircuts for Cancer” ceremony earlier this season, and participating in a “Candlelighters for Cancer” fishing trip over the summer.

The Phoenix, Ariz. native has excelled just as much on court as she has in the classroom, maintaining her high GPA while earning All-Pac-12 honors in each of her four years in Corvallis. Wiese’s career at Oregon State has included three regular season Pac-12 titles, a Pac-12 Tournament title, and an NCAA Women’s Final Four appearance. 

Wiese, a member of this year’s CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team, is the Pac-12 record holder for career 3-pointers and is among the top-seven in career scoring for Oregon State. The senior is on the watch lists for the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, Wade Trophy, Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, and Lieberman Award. She also holds the Oregon State school record for career assists.  

This marks the second year in a row in which the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year has been an Oregon State student-athlete. Wiese’s former teammate Ruth Hamblin claimed the honor last season. 

Wiese is competing in her final Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament this weekend in Seattle. Day Two of the tournament gets underway today, Friday, Mar. 3, at KeyArena at 11:30 a.m. PT as Wiese’s top-seeded Beavers take on CALIFORNIA. Tickets for the tournament are still available at pac-12.com/tickets or at the KeyArena Box Office.  

In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be seniors (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50% of the scheduled contests in the sport, and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season. The athletic accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in the voting for the award.

A Scholar-Athlete of the Year is named in each of the Pac-12’s 23 sponsored sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, beach volleyball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, men’s rowing, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling.  The Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards were established during the 2007-08 academic year.

Other Nominees Included: Kelsey Moos, ASU; Erica McCall, STAN; Kelsey Plum, WASH; Kari Korver, UCLA; Paige Crozon, UTAH; Courtney Jaco, USC; LaBrittney Jones, ARIZ; Haley Smith, COLO; Jacinta Vanderberg, ORE.