Three Cardinal athletes awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships

From left, Michelle Xiao, Blake Parrish and Tami Alade. (Courtesy of Stanford Athletics)

Three Stanford student-athletes – TAMI ALADE, BLAKE PARRISH and MICHELLE XIAO – have been awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships for their academic and athletic achievements.

NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winners receive a one-time grant of $10,000. To qualify, they must be in their final year of athletic eligibility and plan to pursue graduate studies within the next year. In addition to maintaining at least a 3.2 grade-point average, they must perform with distinction in their sport and be nominated by their institution’s faculty athletics representative.

Alade, a human biology major, is a two-time NCAA champion as a member of the women’s volleyball team. A CoSIDA Academic All-American as a senior, Alade finished her career with the Cardinal as the program’s all-time leader in blocks per set (1.55) and third in school history with a .399 attack percentage. The 2018 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, she was also a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection.

Parrish, a computer science major, is a three-time All-America selection by the Association of College Water Polo Coaches. He helped lead Stanford to the NCAA Championship match in 2018. The Cardinal, which captured the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season and tournament titles, finished the year 21-3 overall and ranked No. 2 nationally.

Xiao, a biomechanical engineering major, was named Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a senior in 2018. A member of the Pac-12 All-Academic first team in 2016, 2017 and 2018, Xiao earned the 2017 Elite 90 Award, given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average at the College Cup, as well as 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America first team honors.

Stanford’s overall total of NCAA postgraduate scholarship recipients is now 170.

Read the full article and more on the Stanford Athletics website.