SAN FRANCISCO – A well-rounded student-athlete who has made his impact both on and off the floor, the conference has announced that Sam Beskind is the 2022 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Beskind is the sixth recipient in program history since the award's inception in 2008, joining an elite group comprised of Landry Fields (2010), Dwight Powell (2014), Chasson Randle (2015), Dorian Pickens (2018) and Oscar da Silva (2021). It is presented annually to the top senior student-athlete in the conference in each of the Pac-12's 24 sponsored sports.
Hailing from Tucson, Arizona, Beskind graduated in three years and is in the process of earning his Master's degree in Management Science and Engineering with a concentration in energy and environment. He has taken full advantage of his Stanford experience, completing internships with Nike, Altamont Capital and HomeCourt AI during his college career.
As a senior, Beskind worked with Stanford d.school professor Lisa Kay Solomon and Vote-By-Design to create a "playbook" of civics related drills to inform coaches and student-athletes on how they can engage on #AllVoteNoPlay Day, which is championed by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He helped plan 'Democracy Day' on campus back in November on Election Day at the d.school, which was heavily attended by student-athletes.
Beskind is a walk-on who earned a scholarship for his sophomore season on the team's foreign trip to Italy and Germany. A tough, hard-nosed guard, Beskind helped Stanford to a 20-win season in 2019-20, and to 64 wins during his time on campus. He has appeared in 54 games in his career, including 27 in 2021-22 with four starts, coming on as a defensive specialist.
He is a two-time selection to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll and was on the 2021 NABC Honors Court.