SAN FRANCISCO - OREGON STATE senior Mikayla Pivec was named the 2020 Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Conference office announced today. The award, which is presented in each of the 24 sports the Pac-12 sponsors, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes who are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.

Senior guard Mikayla Pivec (Lynnwood, Wash.) boasts a 3.93 grade point average and is currently working on her Master’s degree in BioChemistry and BioPhysics after earning her undergraduate degree in BioHealth Science from OSU in three years, recording a 3.93 GPA. On the court, Pivec put together a stellar playing career, helping the Beavers win the 2017 Pac-12 regular-season title during her freshman campaign and three top-three finishes in four seasons. After the conclusion of her junior campaign, she was named to the All-Pac-12 team and was an honorable mention WBCA All-American.

This season, Pivec was named a candidate for the Wooden Award, Naismith Award and Wade Trophy. She was named a top-10 finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award, presented to the nation’s top small forward, even though she is listed as a guard, and was ranked the No. 6 player in the country three months into the 2019-20 campaign by ESPN.com. Pivec is second in the Pac-12, and first among guards, in rebounding average, grabbing 9.5 rebounds per game, while ranking 10th in the Conference in scoring at 15.0 points per game, regardless of position. Pivec is among the top-10 in Oregon State history in points, rebounds and assists, the only player in the top-10 of all three categories, most recently collecting her 1,000th-career rebound while scoring over 1,500 points. She was also a member of the USA Basketball team that won a silver medal at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

Pivec is a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, and was a 2019 second team CoSIDA Academic All-American. A two-time Pac-12 All-Academic team honoree, she completed an Honors College Thesis centered on finding ways to get the homeless access to resources. She started a community service organization at Oregon State called Beavs CARE, which brings athletes from different sports together to perform community service activities. She completed a service trip to the Dominican Republic as part of Beavers Without Borders.

In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season. The athletics accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in voting for the award.

A Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be named in each of the Pac-12’s 24 sponsored sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, beach volleyball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, women’s lacrosse, men’s rowing, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling. The award was first established during the 2007-08 academic year.

The Conference’s postseason awards, as voted on by the league’s 12 coaches, will be announced tomorrow morning, Tuesday, March 3, at 9 a.m. PT. The announcement will include the All-Pac-12, Pac-12 All-Defensive and Pac-12 All-Freshman teams, as well as Pac-12 Player of the Year, Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year and the Pac-12 Coach of the Year.

Pac-12 teams are headed to Las Vegas for the 2020 Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament, March 5-8 at Mandalay Bay Events Center. Tickets are still available for purchase at pac-12.com/tickets.

Also Nominated: Lucia Alonso, ARIZ; Robbi Ryan, ASU; Chen Yue, CAL; Sabrina Ionescu, ORE; Nadia Fingall, STAN; Lindsey Corsaro, UCLA; Amber Melgoza, WASH.