2021-22 Stan Bates Awards
DENVER – Grand Canyon softball player Gianna Nicoletti and Utah Tech men's basketball player Hunter Schofield have been named the 2021-22 Western Athletic Conference Stan Bates Award winners. Named in honor of former WAC Commissioner Stan Bates, the annual award is given to the WAC's top male and female scholar-athletes and recognizes athletic, academic and community accomplishments.
Nicoletti, from Fullerton, Calif., graduated Summa Cum Laude in December of 2021, majoring in English for Secondary Education. A four-time President's Honor Roll honoree, she also earned Academic All-WAC honors all four years.
On the field this year, Nicoletti set the conference record in stolen bases in a season both overall (51) and WAC games only (25). She picked up First Team All-WAC honors for the second time while helping lead GCU to the WAC West Division and Tournament titles. The Lopes also earned their first ever bid to the NCAA Softball Tournament this season.
Off the field, she spent 200 hours student-teaching while volunteering at the GCU Mail Center and helped send food to countries in need with “Feed My Starving Children” Organization.
"I have never had a student-athlete do the things at the high level Gianna has done them this past season," said GCU head softball coach Shanon Hays. "She always gave the time and effort working on her game and on leading her team by example. I was extremely blessed to inherit a person like Gianna who was so willing to take on the responsibility of leading a team that brought in 11 new members. “G” made every one of these new teammates feel like part of her GCU “softball family” which led to GCU Softball winning the WAC and earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament.”
Schofield, from Spanish Fork Utah, graduated in May of 2022 with his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. His 3.93 GPA helped him earn a spot on the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America First Team. He is the first Trailblazers player to earn that honor during their NCAA era.
On the court, Schofield was First Team All-WAC after averaging 15.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He leaves Utah Tech as the school’s record holder for points, field goals made and attempted in a season, as well as being the Trailblazers second all-time leader in scoring and rebounding.
Off the court, he volunteered as a presenter for a S.T.O.P. online safety assembly for Elementary Schools and at the County Fair.
"He has great leadership skills. We have become good friends and he is a great person," said Utah Tech Head Men’s Basketball Coach Jon Judkins. "He is caring and dependable, punctual, organized and detail oriented, yet he is professional and communicates well with all age groups."
Schofield is Utah Tech’s first ever recipient of the Stan Bates Award. Nicoletti joins GCU’s Bianca Boling (2018) and Samuel Proctor (2017) as award winners. The award includes a $3,000 postgraduate scholarship.
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