Alabama’s Bailey Hemphill and Zane Waddell Named Kramer Athlete of the Year Finalists
6/15/2020 10:21:00 AM | General, Softball, Swimming & Diving
The Crimson Tide duo were also finalists for the league’s H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year award earlier in the spring
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama softball player Bailey Hemphill and swimmer Zane Waddell are among the 14 female and 14 male finalists for the 2019-20 Roy F. Kramer Athletes of the Year Award the Southeastern Conference announced Monday.
The SEC Athletes of the Year Awards were first presented in 1976 for men and 1984 for women. The award was renamed the Roy F. Kramer Athletes of the Year in 2004 to honor the former commissioner who served the conference from 1990-2002. The Male and Female Athletes of the Year will be announced on Wednesday, June 17.
A four-year starter at Alabama, Hemphill is one of the most prolific power hitters in program history, boasting top-five marks at UA in career home runs (50) and RBIs (183) and the SEC single-season record with 26 home runs. She has been equally as impressive off the field, earning her undergraduate degree in early childhood development with a 4.0 cumulative GPA. A three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, she was voted the CoSIDA Softball Academic All-America Team Member of the Year in 2019.
A four-year, 21-time All-American, Waddell finished his Alabama career as a World, World University Games, NCAA and SEC Champion. As a senior, he earned the Commissioner's Trophy (SEC Championship high-point scorer), was the SEC Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year and set World University Games, SEC and UA records. He is the fifth-fastest 100 backstroker in swimming history and has two of the three fastest 50 backstroke times. An eight-time SEC Champion, he won five titles in 2020 and holds four SEC records. He graduated in May with a double major in management information systems and finance.
In addition to being finalists for the conference's Athlete of the Year honors, Hemphill and Waddell were also among the 14 female and 14 male finalists for this year's SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, and both earned SEC Postgraduate Scholarships.
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