The College of Wooster tied for first-place for most NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients across the entire NCAA for the 2021-22 academic year, thanks to the selection of alumna Brooke Swain, who was among the 21 female spring sport student-athletes to earn a one-time, non-renewable $10,000 award, as announced recently by the NCAA.
Wooster, which logged its third top-five finish for most recipients over the last five years, had a record four student-athletes chosen for the prestigious scholarship this academic year. Wooster finished tied with DePauw University, Hope College, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Georgia, and the University of Kentucky for most recipients this year. Overall, the North Coast Athletic Conference had 13 student-athletes chosen for the prestigious scholarship, with that ranking second behind the Southeastern Conference's 18.
Swain, Wooster's nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year and the North Coast Athletic Conference's Pam Smith Award, earned Wooster's David Guldin Award and was the Fighting Scots' women's selection for the NCAC Scholar-Athlete Award this spring. She earned All-NCAC honors for the second time in softball after finishing her career as the program's all-time leader in career (53) and single-season stolen bases (29). A lifetime .352 hitter (99-for-281), Swain played in 112 games and is the only player in program history with multiple 20-stolen base seasons. The two-year starter broke Wooster's single-season record for runs (36) and holds single-game program-bests for hits (5) and runs (5), with both milestones coming during a 29-1 rout of Kenyon College in 2021.
The two-sport star earned a starting role as a senior middle on Wooster's volleyball team, which knocked off NCAC-champion Denison University in the semifinals of the NCAC Tournament en route to playing in the NCAC Tournament title match for the first time since 1985. Swain helped Wooster string together a 10-match winning streak for the first time in 37 years.
The biology alumna, who will be attending the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, identified the phosphorylation of Pho4p in yeast expressing the PsAvh110 effector protein for her Independent Study. Swain was the vice president of the student Pre-Dental Society and was the treasurer of Beta Beta Beta, Wooster's chapter of a college honor society for students pursuing degrees in biological sciences. Swain was active with the campus' signature health coach program, a partnership with Wooster Community Hospital where Wooster students meet regularly with community members who need companionship and encouragement in developing healthier lifestyles. Through the program, Swain assisted community members in promoting wellness, reduced the need for potentially unnecessary procedure and hospitalizations, and promoted delivery of evidenced-based care for patients.
"Brooke has put everything she has into both her athletic and academic experience at Wooster and I am so happy she was rewarded with the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship," shared Victoria Rumph, Wooster's head softball coach. "I cannot think of a more deserving recipient. It has been amazing to watch Brooke grow into the athlete, student, and person she has become. I am very proud of Brooke and am excited to see what the future has in store for her as she pursues her dreams of becoming a dentist."
"Over her four years, Brooke was consistently one of the strongest and most prepared players coming into the season," added Sarah Davis, Wooster's head volleyball coach. "Putting in the hard work propelled her to both athletic and academic success at Wooster. We are thrilled she joins teammate Syd Case in being recognized for that hard work with the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship."
"I am blessed and honored to receive this scholarship," Swain said. "I will utilize it this year to help pay for rent and utilities for my apartment in Iowa City. I am so excited to start my next journey in Iowa, and I am looking forward to the challenges and obstacles I will face in dental school."
Wooster now has 26 all-time NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship selections, with 12 coming in the last five years.
Swain is the first softball student-athlete to earn a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, and she is the third Fighting Scots' volleyball player. Volleyball's Syd Case, men's soccer's Wilson Freije, and women's soccer's Miura Wiley were Wooster's other NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients for the 2021-22 academic year.