Four Owls Nominated for Good Works Team
8/8/2025 10:46:00 AM | Football, Women's Cross Country, Women's Soccer, Women's Volleyball
HOUSTON – Four Rice athletes were honored as nominees for the Allstate NACDA (AFCA for football) Good Works Team, with Darby Harris (volleyball), Kate Twede (women's cross country), Plae Wyatt (AFCA – football) and Sophie Zhang all receiving nominations.
The Allstate NACDA Good Works Team is an initiative to recognize and honor student-athletes who demonstrate levels of volunteerism and civic engagement that are above and beyond their success and achievements in the classroom and competition. The goal of the program is to provide recognition for these future community leaders, their teams, academic institutions, and the communities they support
Harris returns to Rice for her final season of collegiate volleyball, where she has been an outstanding teammate, community leader, and team leader. She earned Rice Volleyball's WE/ME award in the fall, symbolizing a team member who puts the team above herself. For the 2024 season, Harris moved to a defensive specialist role and excelled, posting the second-most digs on the team at 290. The former CSC Academic All-District honor recipient has also earned a litany of other academic honors, including the Rice Scholar Athlete Award, President's Honor Roll, multiple conference academic honors, and has been named Rice Volleyball's Most Studious Award winner twice. Harris volunteered for several organizations for community service this season, including Achilles Houston, Belmont Village, and Star of Home.
Twede enters her senior year for cross country and has earned conference academic honors in each of her three seasons on the team. This past year, Twede has volunteered with Team Impact, Texas Children's Hospital, Rice Holistic Garden, the Houston Marathon and as a Spanish interpreter for the San Jose Clinic, on top of academic advising, volunteer conferences and organizational meetings.
Wyatt saw his hopes to build on a successful 2023 season when he led the Owls in tackles come to an early end when he was injured in the 2024 season opener vs. Sam Houston. But while sidelined from game action, he completed work on his undergraduate degree in Sport Management and continued his commitment to various community activities. His academic honors include four conference academic honors and a Rice honor athlete recognition in 2025. Through the McKinney Yellow Jackets, founded by his father, he has mentored and coached at-risk youth for over six years and extended this mission by founding the Plae Wyatt Free Youth Football Camp. At Rice, he actively serves the Houston community through city events, mentoring, and outreach.
Zhang is coming off a successful 2024 campaign, where she scored the game-winning goal against UAB in the American Quarterfinals, earning a spot on the AAC All-Academic Team. The junior has collected American All-Academic honors her first two seasons with the Owls. Zhang has volunteered with the Memorial Herman Hospital, PAIR (Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees) and Houston Food Bank, along with helping at Hanszen College and Herman Park.
The Good Works Teams will be announced on Tuesday, August 26.
The Allstate NACDA Good Works Team is an initiative to recognize and honor student-athletes who demonstrate levels of volunteerism and civic engagement that are above and beyond their success and achievements in the classroom and competition. The goal of the program is to provide recognition for these future community leaders, their teams, academic institutions, and the communities they support
Harris returns to Rice for her final season of collegiate volleyball, where she has been an outstanding teammate, community leader, and team leader. She earned Rice Volleyball's WE/ME award in the fall, symbolizing a team member who puts the team above herself. For the 2024 season, Harris moved to a defensive specialist role and excelled, posting the second-most digs on the team at 290. The former CSC Academic All-District honor recipient has also earned a litany of other academic honors, including the Rice Scholar Athlete Award, President's Honor Roll, multiple conference academic honors, and has been named Rice Volleyball's Most Studious Award winner twice. Harris volunteered for several organizations for community service this season, including Achilles Houston, Belmont Village, and Star of Home.
Twede enters her senior year for cross country and has earned conference academic honors in each of her three seasons on the team. This past year, Twede has volunteered with Team Impact, Texas Children's Hospital, Rice Holistic Garden, the Houston Marathon and as a Spanish interpreter for the San Jose Clinic, on top of academic advising, volunteer conferences and organizational meetings.
Wyatt saw his hopes to build on a successful 2023 season when he led the Owls in tackles come to an early end when he was injured in the 2024 season opener vs. Sam Houston. But while sidelined from game action, he completed work on his undergraduate degree in Sport Management and continued his commitment to various community activities. His academic honors include four conference academic honors and a Rice honor athlete recognition in 2025. Through the McKinney Yellow Jackets, founded by his father, he has mentored and coached at-risk youth for over six years and extended this mission by founding the Plae Wyatt Free Youth Football Camp. At Rice, he actively serves the Houston community through city events, mentoring, and outreach.
Zhang is coming off a successful 2024 campaign, where she scored the game-winning goal against UAB in the American Quarterfinals, earning a spot on the AAC All-Academic Team. The junior has collected American All-Academic honors her first two seasons with the Owls. Zhang has volunteered with the Memorial Herman Hospital, PAIR (Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees) and Houston Food Bank, along with helping at Hanszen College and Herman Park.
The Good Works Teams will be announced on Tuesday, August 26.
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
/ Women's Cross Country
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