Zane Waddell has been named Alabama’s men’s nominee for the Southeastern Conference’s H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Postgraduate Scholarship, the school announced Tuesday.
Waddell joins softball player Bailey Hemphill as the Crimson Tide’s nominees. The contest awards post-graduate scholarships of $20,000 to the top male and female athlete from the conference’s 14 schools. The 26 finalists each receive a $10,000 scholarship.
Waddell, a native of Bloemfontein, South Africa, is a double major in management information systems and finance. He was named the SEC Swimming and Diving Men’s Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2020 and won the SEC Commissioner’s Trophy as the high point scorer in the 2020 SEC Championships. He’s a three-time CSCAA Scholar All-American.
Waddell leaves Alabama as a 21-time All-American and an eight-time SEC champion. He holds the conference record in the 100 backstroke and as part of three relays. Waddell and the Crimson Tide were denied a chance to defend their 200 medley relay championships at NCAAs this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Beyond the college waters, Zane Waddell won gold in the 50-meter backstroke at both the 2019 FINA World Championships and the 2019 World University Games (the latter in a tie with Justin Ress) while setting a meet record.
Alabama’s last McWhorter Award winner was a male swimmer, Anton McKee in 2017.
The H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Postgraduate Scholarship has been presented annually since 1986 to the SEC’s top male and female scholar-athletes. The conference’s 14 member institutions will release their nominations over the next two weeks, and the recipient will be named in late May. Past swimming recipients include Anton McKee (Alabama, 2017), Sarah Gibson (Texas A&M, 2017), Maddie Locus (Georgia, 2015), Shannon Vreeland (Georgia, 2014), Wendy Trott (Georgia, 2012), Dan Mazzaferro (Auburn, 2011), Erica Meissner (Auburn, 2011), Jordan Anderson (Auburn, 2010) and Christine Magnuson (Tennessee, 2009).
Congratulations Zane