SAN RAMON, CA – Washington State linebacker Kyle Thornton was named the Pac-12 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2024 season, the conference announced today. The award, which is presented in each of the sports sponsored by the Pac-12, was established to honor student-athletes who are standouts both academically and in their respective sport. In addition, the Pac-12 also announced its Fall Academic Honor Roll which included 41 football student-athletes from Oregon State and Washington State. 

Thornton is a graduate student currently pursuing his MBA at Washington State after obtaining his undergraduate degree in Economics with a cumulative GPA of 3.84. The Upland, Calif., native has been named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll four times and is a two-time College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honoree. The redshirt senior was a team captain in 2024 and ranked second on Washington State with 71.0 total tackles this past season, including a game-saving, goal-line stop against Washington to seal the Apple Cup victory (Sept. 14). He led the Cougars' defense with a career-high 7.5 tackles for loss and added a sack, an interception, and four quarterback hits to his tally. He was also a semifinalist for the Burlsworth Trophy in 2023, given to college football's most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on.

To be eligible for the Pac-12 scholar-athlete of the year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility), on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport's regular season. The athletics accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in voting for the award.

The award was established during the 2007-08 academic year and is named in each of the Pac-12 sponsored sports. 

2024 Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Roll

To be eligible for the Academic Honor Roll, a student-athlete must be on their respective roster with a cumulative GPA of at 3.3 and have served at least one year in residence at the institution.  

WSU's 2024 Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Roll honorees are listed below:

Sean Bures, Kinesiology
Hudson Cedarland, Management
Andrew Edson, Computer Science
Van Fessler, Electrical Engineering
Aslan Fraser, Finance
Gavin Fugate, Sport Management
Nick Haberer, Public Relations
Lane Heeringa, Construction Management
Dean Janikowski, MBA
Jack Janikowski, Business
Mason Juergens, Finance
Luke Leighton, Business
Gauge Machado, Earth Science
John Mateer, Business
Zack Miller, Accounting/Finance
Cole Norah, Political Science
Jaxon Potter, Business
Jalen Ridgeway, Biology
Leyton Smithson, Fine Arts
Isaac Terrell, Business
Kyle Thornton, MBA