PULLMAN, Wash. (Aug. 19, 2025) – Washington State student-athletes Katy Ryan and Kyle Thornton were named the Pac-12 Conference Tom Hansen Medal recipients for the 2024-25 academic year, the conference announced Tuesday. A Conference Medal is awarded annually to each member institution's outstanding senior male and female student-athlete based on the exhibition of the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership.
Conference medal winners have been named every year since the 1960-61 academic year. In 2009, the Pac-12 renamed the award the Tom Hansen Conference Medal in honor of Hansen, who retired at the end of June 2009 after serving for 26 years as Commissioner of the Pac-10.
Ryan, a four-year letterwinner at WSU, put a bow on her Cougar career last December with her fourth consecutive postseason appearance. She finished her career ranking sixth all-time at WSU with a .282 attack percentage, seventh in points with 1,387.0, and 10th in sets played with 469. A member of three NCAA Tournament teams in her time on the Palouse, Ryan was named AVCA All-Region First Team and All-WCC First Team in 2024 after having also been a two-time All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention. In 2022 she was selected to the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Volleyball Team after being named to the 2021 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.
Academically, she was a three-time recipient of CSC Academic All-District honors, was a two-time Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll selection, and in 2024 was named WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention. Ryan received her degree in elementary education while posting an impressive 3.66 GPA.
Thornton, who concluded his Cougar football career last December, was a four-year letterwinner at WSU and team captain as a senior. For his career, he collected 213 tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss, two sacks and one interception, while leading the team in tackles as a junior and second as a senior. As a junior he was a Burlsworth Semifinalist, given to the nation's top player who began as a walk-on. Last season, in the 2024 Apple Cup, had five tackles including a game-sealing tackle-for-loss on fourth down at the goal line to win against Washington at Lumen Field in Seattle.
Academically, Thornton was the 2024 Pac-12 Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a five-time Pac-12 Conference Academic Honor Roll recipient. Twice he was named College Sports Communicators First-Team All-District. Thornton graduated with a degree in economics and is nearing completion of MBA.
