The Defender Has Started Every Game While At UCLA
Throughout her UCLA career, Kaiya McCullough has received several athletic and academic awards. Under her watch, the Bruin defense posted 10 shutouts this season.
UCLA senior defender Kaiya McCullough has been named the 2019 Pac-12 Women’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She holds a 3.73 cumulative GPA in Political Science and is set to graduate in December.
The center back has started every game she’s played for the Bruins. That’s 88 games in total. She’s only missed one game in her collegiate career, due to illness.
Only the second Bruin to receive this honor, McCullough is also a two-time second-team All-Pac-12 honoree (2017, 2019). She was also second-team All-Region in 2017, a Pac-12 All-Freshman selection in 2016 and a three-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.
This Mission Viejo native has also received several academic honors including a two-time honorable mention Pac-12 All-Academic honoree, earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors (2017), Athletic Director’s Academic Excellence Award (2019) for making the Director’s Honor Roll every quarter she has been at UCLA and earned a 4.0 GPA in two of those quarters.
McCullough is also a strong leader in the community as an outspoken leader for equality and social justice. She was selected to participate in a 2019 UCLA panel discussion highlighting athletes, social justice and activism, and the legacy of Jackie Robinson. Additionally, she and her UCLA teammates led the Women’s March LA in 2019. She has also been an active participant in several community service ventures, including visits to Mattel Children’s Hospital and to elementary schools for Reading Across America.
In order 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% of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum of 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 athletic accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in the voting for the award.
