STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford women's water polo's Kat Klass has been awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for her academic and athletic achievements.
NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winners receive a one-time grant of $10,000. To qualify, they must be in their final year of eligibility and be enrolled in a graduate degree granting program within one year after the academic year the scholarship was awarded. In addition to maintaining at least a 3.2 grade-point average, they must perform with distinction in their sport and be nominated by their institution's faculty athletics representative.
Awardees are evaluated on their academic and athletic achievement, campus involvement, community service, volunteer activities and demonstrated leadership. The program rewards college athletes whose dedication and effort reflect the characteristics needed to succeed in graduate study.
Stanford student-athletes have now earned a nation-leading 173 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, dating back to 1965 when football player Joe Neal became the first. Klass is the seventh women's water polo to be awarded a scholarship, joining Maggie Steffens (2017), Ashley Grossman (2015), Monica Coughlan (2012), Scotti Shafter (2006), Jackie Frank (2003) and Kate Pettit (2002).
Voted to the All-NCAA Tournament second team and All-MPSF second team as a senior, Klass was fourth on the team with 37 goals and 13th in the MPSF in goals per game (1.54). She scored in 22 games and had 11 multi-goal efforts, including three hat tricks, and put in the 150th and final goal of her career to tie the game midway through the third quarter of the NCAA final against USC to finish 13th in school history in that category.
A two-time NCAA champion and three-time All-American in the pool, Klass was a perfect four-for-four in earning academic All-America distinction. She graduated from Stanford last month with a 3.998 GPA and her degree in human biology with a concentration in human performance and will remain on campus next year to pursue her master's in sustainability science and practice.