Three Owls Honored with C-USA Scholar-Athlete Award
6/23/2023 10:15:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Men's Cross Country, Women's Volleyball
HOUSTON — A league-leading three Rice University student-athletes were recognized for being named their respective sport's Conference USA Scholar Athlete of the Year, announced by the league office.
The awards, voted on by the conference's 11 FARs, are presented to the top student-athletes in each conference-sponsored sport based on academic achievement (GPA), athletic achievement and service.
The 16 scholar-athletes were selected from C-USA's full-time and affiliate member institutions across 18 sports (combining indoor and outdoor track & field).
Max Fiedler (Men's Basketball)
A three-time member of the C-USA All-Academic Team, Fiedler earns the honor for the third straight season, becoming just the second C-USA and Rice athlete to win it three straight years (Philip Adam, Track & Field, 2008-11). A member of the College Sports Communicators All-District Team, he currently holds a 3.891 GPA while majoring in Mathematical Economic Analysis. A Second Team All-Conference USA honoree, he averaged 11.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists. He led all of college basketball in field goal percentage, connecting on 73.5% from the field, which set the Rice and Conference USA single-season records. He also led the league in assists, assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1), and offensive rebounds (3.1), while finishing fourth in rebounds and eighth in blocks (1.1). Fiedler became the first Division 1 player in the last 30 years to average at least 11.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists and connect on 73.5% from the floor. On Jan. 16 at UTSA, he became the second player in school history to record a triple-double with a season-high 24 points (12-of-14), 13 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists.
Travis Dowd (Men's Cross Country)
Dowd, a bioengineering major, holds a 3.92 GPA and was named to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll while also earning the C-USA Academic Medal for a fourth straight year. Dowd was also awarded the C-USA Spirit of Service award for the fall season. This year, Dowd was named to the All-Conference team after a 21st-place finish at the C-USA Cross Country Championships while later finishing 42nd at the NCAA DI South Region Championships. He also finished fourth at the Lake Charles Toyota McNeese Cowboy Stampede while setting a personal best in a four-mile race with a time of 19:43.8.
Carly Graham (Volleyball)
A member of the C-USA All-Academic Team and the College Sports Communicators All-District Team, Graham, Graham held a 3.49 GPA in Health Sciences. She garnered VolleyballMag.com Fourth Team All-American honors, as well as AVCA All-American Honorable Mention. The C-USA Tournament MVP, she became the second player in Conference USA history to be named its Setter of the Year three straight seasons, while earning C-USA's Setter of the Week five times. Graham led the league with 1,246 assists and was second with 10.56 assists per set while becoming just the fourth Owls with over 4,000 career assists.
The awards, voted on by the conference's 11 FARs, are presented to the top student-athletes in each conference-sponsored sport based on academic achievement (GPA), athletic achievement and service.
The 16 scholar-athletes were selected from C-USA's full-time and affiliate member institutions across 18 sports (combining indoor and outdoor track & field).
Max Fiedler (Men's Basketball)
A three-time member of the C-USA All-Academic Team, Fiedler earns the honor for the third straight season, becoming just the second C-USA and Rice athlete to win it three straight years (Philip Adam, Track & Field, 2008-11). A member of the College Sports Communicators All-District Team, he currently holds a 3.891 GPA while majoring in Mathematical Economic Analysis. A Second Team All-Conference USA honoree, he averaged 11.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists. He led all of college basketball in field goal percentage, connecting on 73.5% from the field, which set the Rice and Conference USA single-season records. He also led the league in assists, assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1), and offensive rebounds (3.1), while finishing fourth in rebounds and eighth in blocks (1.1). Fiedler became the first Division 1 player in the last 30 years to average at least 11.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists and connect on 73.5% from the floor. On Jan. 16 at UTSA, he became the second player in school history to record a triple-double with a season-high 24 points (12-of-14), 13 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists.
Travis Dowd (Men's Cross Country)
Dowd, a bioengineering major, holds a 3.92 GPA and was named to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll while also earning the C-USA Academic Medal for a fourth straight year. Dowd was also awarded the C-USA Spirit of Service award for the fall season. This year, Dowd was named to the All-Conference team after a 21st-place finish at the C-USA Cross Country Championships while later finishing 42nd at the NCAA DI South Region Championships. He also finished fourth at the Lake Charles Toyota McNeese Cowboy Stampede while setting a personal best in a four-mile race with a time of 19:43.8.
Carly Graham (Volleyball)
A member of the C-USA All-Academic Team and the College Sports Communicators All-District Team, Graham, Graham held a 3.49 GPA in Health Sciences. She garnered VolleyballMag.com Fourth Team All-American honors, as well as AVCA All-American Honorable Mention. The C-USA Tournament MVP, she became the second player in Conference USA history to be named its Setter of the Year three straight seasons, while earning C-USA's Setter of the Week five times. Graham led the league with 1,246 assists and was second with 10.56 assists per set while becoming just the fourth Owls with over 4,000 career assists.
Players Mentioned
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