STANFORD, Calif. — Brandy Atuatasi, Zach Buckey, and Elise Evans are being honored by the ACC as 2026 ACC Postgraduate Scholars.
Atuatasi (Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field) and Buckey (Football) help comprise this year’s 33 2026 ACC Excellence Award winners. Evans (Women’s Soccer) is one of 32 2026 Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship recipients.
Atuatasi built a standout career as a thrower on the track & field team, earning 2024 USTFCCCA All-Academic honors and four Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll selections. As a junior in 2024, she advanced to the NCAA West Prelims in the discus and moved to No. 10 on Stanford’s all-time list with a personal-best 172-9 (52.67m) to win the Chris Rinne Invite. During her senior season in 2025, she won the discus at the Payton Jordan Invitational with a throw of 177-6 while competing unattached.
Pursuing her M.S. in Community Health and Prevention Research after completing her bachelor's degree in Psychology last summer, Atuatasi has served in leadership roles around campus with Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Social Events for Athletes, and the Pacific Islander Student Association. She is also a speaker and mentor with GameFaces and coordinates coursework for UAR-56.
Atuatasi currently works for the Patel Lab in Stanford's Prevention Research Center, with goals to seve the Pasifika community through health promotion and disease prevention after graduation.
Buckey was a five-year member of the football program who played in 35 games, including four starts. He’s a two-time All-ACC Academic football team selection, landing on a conference academic team four times in his career. Buckey earned the program’s Chris Draft Commitment to Community Outreach Award during his final two seasons, given to a player who demonstrates a special commitment to community outreach.
A key cog in Stanford’s Democracy Day, Buckey helped launch Stanford’s first Democracy Day in 2024, helping hundreds of Stanford students and staff register to vote before the election. He has also been the Vice President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Evans, the 2025 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, helped guide Stanford to three consecutive College Cup appearances in her final three seasons on The Farm. The 2025 United Soccer Coaches National Scholar Player of the Year, Evans was named College Sports Communicators Academic All-America first team, a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, and a United Soccer Coaches All-America first team pick this year.
A team captain and the team leader in minutes played with 2,156 at center back, Evans accumulated seven goals, including two game-winners, and six assists for 20 points. Anchoring the back line, the native of Redwood City, Calif., helped the Cardinal register nine shutouts while limiting opponents to 24 goals (0.96 per game) on 205 total shots. Having graduated with a degree in communication, Evans signed her first professional soccer contract with the NWSL’s Chicago Stars FC following the conclusion of the 2025 season.
About the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Award
The Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Award is named in honor of former ACC commissioners Jim Weaver, Bob James, Gene Corrigan, and John Swofford. It is awarded to selected student-athletes who intend to pursue a graduate degree after completing their undergraduate requirements. Each recipient will receive $9,000 toward his or her graduate education. Those honored have performed with distinction in both the classroom and their respective sport while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community and were chosen by a vote of the league’s FARs at the ACC Winter Meetings.
About the ACC Excellence Award
The ACC Excellence Award recognizes outstanding graduates from our ACC member institutions. The goal of the award is to highlight the students embodying the student-athlete ideal. The brand of the ACC is our strong history of providing world-class education and competition. The awardees are exemplary students, athletes, and contributors to the community and society, and serve as an example to their fellow students.