Rowley Named Male Scholar-Athlete Of The Year

3/2/2018 2:00:00 PM

Rob Washburn

RICHMOND, Va. (March 2, 2018) – William and Mary junior men’s basketball player Paul Rowley has been chosen as the Colonial Athletic Association Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The selection was made by the CAA’s Academic Affairs Committee.

Rowley, who was also honored as the 2017-18 CAA Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, graduated magna cum laude from W&M with a double major in computer science and finance in 2017 and is currently in his year of Law School at the College. He became the first Tribe men's basketball player since 1912 to be named Phi Beta Kappa last year. He was recently selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team in men’s basketball and will be on the ballot for Academic All-America accolades.

Rowley has appeared in 28 games with four starts this season, averaging 19.3 minutes per game. The junior forward averages 5.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 43.8 percent from 3-point range. He ranks fourth in the CAA in 3-point shooting and 11th in blocked shots (19). Rowley scored a career-high 16 points in the Tribe's 99-92 home win over Elon on Feb. 1. He is a three-time CAA Commissioners Academic Award winner and a three-time W&M Provost Award selection. Last season, Rowley was voted the Tribe's Most Improved Player and was named to the CAA All-Academic Team.

Rowley holds a distinction that few ever have in college basketball. After graduating from W&M in just three years, he is in his first year of law school. Rowley is currently one of two Division I players in law school (Pepperdine's Kevin Hempy), but he is the only men's player to be a recruited scholarship player and attend law school at the same institution that he earned his undergraduate degree.

Each of the CAA’s 10 institutions nominated a Scholar-Athlete for the award and they will be recognized by the conference for their outstanding accomplishments. These 10 student-athletes, along with the Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, were eligible to receive the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

2017-18 CAA Institutional Male Scholar-Athlete Awards
School                                  Name, Sport
Charleston                          Eli Dent, Soccer
Delaware                             Thibault Philippe, Soccer
Drexel                                   Eric Alexandersson, Soccer
Elon                                       Charlie May, Golf
Hofstra                                 Alan Hetherington, Cross Country
James Madison                 Yannick Franz, Soccer
UNCW                                  Thomas Eldridge, Golf
Northeastern                      Jonathan Thuresson, Soccer
Towson                                Adam Ceribelli, Lacrosse
William & Mary                    James Sheehan, Baseball