KU’s David McCormack named Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men’s basketball

By Matt Tait     Apr 13, 2022

Nick Krug
Kansas forward David McCormack (33) roars after a dunk before Texas guard Courtney Ramey (3) during overtime on Saturday, March 5, 2022 at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks defeated the Longhorns, 70-63 to win a share of the Big 12 conference title.

Fresh off of winning a national title in New Orleans, Kansas forward David McCormack was named the Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men’s basketball on Tuesday.

The honor adds to a strong list of accolades handed out to McCormack in recent weeks, including a spot on the NCAA Tournament all-tournament team.

As was the plan coming in, the senior from Norfolk, Virginia, graduated from KU in three years with a degree in communications studies. He carries a 3.50 grade-point average and is currently studying digital content strategy in graduate school.

On the court, he averaged 10.6 points and seven rebounds for the Jayhawks during his senior season while posting 11 double-doubles, including a 15-points, 10-rebound effort against North Carolina in the national title game.

During his KU career, McCormack was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 first team honoree.

He becomes the second Kansas player to win the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor since its inception during the 2012-13 season. Former KU great Perry Ellis was a two-time recipient of the award in 2015 and 2016.

Joining McCormack in representing KU this year is senior swimmer Kate Steward, who was named the 2022 Big 12 Women’s Swimming & Diving Scholar Athlete of the Year this week.

The awards are handed out after a vote of the Big 12’s head coaches in each sport.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.