Hawks Have Three Named America East Scholar Athletes
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - University of Hartford volleyball senior Megan Anderson, men's basketball junior Hunter Marks and baseball senior John Thrasher were named America East Scholar Athletes for the 2020-21 season as announced by the league office on Wednesday. The Hawk trio are three of 16 student-athletes honored representing the conference's complement of sports. The Scholar Athlete Award honors students for their success in the classroom as well as on the field or court.
A biology major with a 3.99 cumulative GPA, Anderson is a three-time America East All-Academic honoree. In 2018, she was a CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-America Third Team selection and earned CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-District 1 First Team honors. She was also named an America East Presidential Scholar-Athlete this past month.
A two-time Second Team All-Conference member who recorded 40+ assists in four matches this season, Anderson's 10.5 assists per set ranked second in the America East. Anderson ranks third all-time in Hartford's rally-scoring record book in career assists (2,820) and first in service aces (59).
An entrepreneurial studies major with a 3.81 cumulative GPA, Marks is a two-time America East All-Academic honoree and two-time America East Commissioner's Honor Roll member. He was also named an America East Presidential Scholar-Athlete this past month.
On the court, Marks was focal in the Hawks run to their first-ever America East Championship in March. He delivered a team-best three double-doubles in 2020-21 leading the team in minutes per game (35.0) and total blocks (16), while his 9.5 points per game were fifth-most on the team.
A finance major with a 3.57 cumulative GPA, Thrasher was named to the America East Commissioner's Honor Roll in 2020.
On the field, Thrasher earned America East Player of the Year honors, All-Conference First Team distinction and ABCA All-Region Second Team honors this past season. A native of Ridgefield, Conn., Thrasher enjoyed a breakout campaign for the Hawks at the plate, ranking first in the America East in batting average (.369), slugging percentage (.680), on-base percentage (.470), runs per game (1.03) and stolen bases (37). He led the nation in stolen bases per game (1.03), while his 37 swipes were third in the nation.
Thrasher inked his name atop Hartford's record book this season. His 37 stolen bases in 2021 are the most recorded in a single season, while his 69 career swipes are also a program record.
Nominees were put forward by their institution, which could nominate up to one student-athlete per sport, then voted upon by the conference's Student-Athlete Engagement committee. Each America East Scholar-Athlete was a projected starter or prominent reserve and carries a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.50.
Sport Scholar-Athletes are automatically eligible for the America East Female or Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, which will be announced in July.
America East is proud to have one of most comprehensive academic awards programs in the country, which honors over two-thirds of its student-athletes for their success in the classroom.