SAN FRANCISCO -- Washington State senior Casey Schoenlein is the Pac-12 Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Commissioner Larry Scott announced Wednesday.
 
Majoring in Communication/Journalism and Media Production, Schoenlein has a 3.94 cumulative grade point average and will complete her Bachelor of Arts degree in in May 2018. She is a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic First Team selection and a three-year WSU Athletics All-Academic team member.
 
Schoenlein is a four-year letterwinner and two-year co-captain for WSU Volleyball team. She is a two-year starter at opposite hitter/opposite hitter position and is third-highest on team in kills per set and fourth in blocks per set. She is in the top 25 in WSU career records for block assists and total blocks. She was named to the 2016 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention Team. During the summer of 2017, Schoenlein played on the U.S. Collegiate National Team (CNT) - Minneapolis, part of USA Volleyball's High Performance pipeline and are considered a second tryout for the U.S. Women's National Team. In the summer of 2016, Schoenlein was among 12 chosen for the U.S. CNT - Europe Tour that won the gold medal at the 12th Annual Global Challenge Tournament in Pula, Croatia.
 
For the past two years Schoenlein has provided very entertaining written and video content for a biweekly blog about the WSU volleyball team on and off the court activities published on the wsucougars.com website.
 
Schoenlein has served on WSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) from 2014-present including being elected Executive Communications Officer. She was the female representative selected by WSU Athletics to attend the 2017 Pac-12 SAAC Conference at the Pac-12 Conference headquarters in San Francisco, where she participated in discussions about NCAA legislation and how to improve the voice of the student-athletes.
 
Schoenlein has volunteered as a referee the past three years at the annual Special Olympics Basketball tournament of 600 Special Olympians. She has been very active in the WSU SAAC sponsored activities including Reading Buddies: going to elementary schools twice a week and reading to and with children; Coug Pals Mentor: writing letters back and forth to elementary children to develop writing skills; Senior Buddies: spending time with men and women in the Senior Care Center; and Butch's Bash: annual Christmas carnival for local preschool and elementary students. Schoenlein has participated yearly in WSU's National Women and Girls in Sports Day celebrations. She worked as an instructor and team coach at volleyball camps and clinics for the past four years. She has served for two years as a Peer Academic Counselor, meeting with younger student-athletes weekly to ensure their commitment to their athletic and academic responsibilities.
 
Through her academics, athletics, and volunteer work, Schoenlein has taken on leadership roles and has been a model for integrity, cultivating teamwork while demonstrating an impeccable work ethic, and fostering compassion in all she does. She is admired by her peers in the classroom, her fellow student-athletes, coaches and athletics staff.
 
"We are extremely proud of Casey and her incredible work ethic throughout her four years both on and off the court," WSU Head Coach Jen Greeny said. "This award truly shows her commitment to being the best she can be and we are thrilled for her."
 
Schoenlein is the first Pac-12 Volleyball Scholar-Athlete from WSU in the 11 years of the award's existence. The Pac-12 Conference established the Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards in 2007-08 to recognize its outstanding senior student-athletes. A Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be named in each of the Pac-12's 23 sponsored sports and must meet the nomination criteria of being a senior (in athletics eligibility) and on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, have participation in at least 50% of the scheduled contest in the sport, and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution nominates one individual per sport, and the winners will be selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport's regular season. The athletic accomplishments of the nominees will be a consideration in the voting for the award.