FAIRFAX, Va. – Cleveland State women's basketball senior Mariah White has been named one of four semifinalists for the Diverse: Issues in Higher Education's Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars. Last week, White was selected as a Top-10 Women's Finalist out of nearly 1,000 men's and women's nominees.
In addition to being named a semifinalist, White was also selected as the Women's Basketball Individual Sport Category winner.
DIVERSE: Issues in Higher Education Release
Last weekend, White led the Vikings to the 2021 WBI Championship, earning Tournament MVP honors after averaging 18.0 points, 5.0 steals and 3.3 assists through three games. In the first round win over Manhattan, White set a WBI single-game record with nine total steals.
Earlier this year, White picked up her second straight Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year accolade, while she was also named to the All-League First Team and earned a spot on the Horizon League All-Tournament Team.
White finished the season ranked 13th on the CSU Scoring List with 1,320 total points, while she also finished the year in the CSU Career Record Book top-10 in steals (6th – 230) and free throws made (6th – 312).
In the classroom, White is on track to graduate Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Math Education, carrying a 3.64 GPA.
Off the court, White is serving as the Cleveland State SAAC Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Chair, and is an active participant in the Horizon League's #OneHL Working Group. White is also a member of the Cleveland State Athletics Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, serving as the student-athlete representative.
Out of the four semifinalists – White, Jessica Drop (Track/Cross Country, Georgia), Lena Greene (Gymnastics, Oregon State), and Chanel Thomas (Soccer, Mississippi) – one will be chosen as the 2021 Sports Scholar of the Year.
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education sponsors the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Awards to honor undergraduate students who have excelled in the classroom as well as on the athletic field. Inspired by tennis legend Arthur Ashe Jr.'s commitment to education as well as his love for the game of tennis, sports scholars are selected based on their athletic ability, academic performance, and commitment to community service and student leadership.
White is also a top-10 finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, which takes into account student-athletes achievements in the four areas of community, classroom, character, and competition.
