GOLD RIVER – California senior men's rower Tommy Barrell was named the Pac-12 Men's Rowing Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the conference announced Monday. Barrell is the fourth Golden Bear in the last six years to win the award and the first since George Finlayson in 2021.
 
Barrell, an Auckland, New Zealand native, helped power the Bears to back-to-back IRA national championships and Pac-12 titles in 2022 and 2023. At the IRAs, he rowed in the stroke seat for the 2V8+ that finished first and took home the Kennedy Cup in 2023, second in 2022 and third in 2021. This year, Barrell has rowed in the stroke seat in the V8+ for a majority of the season, starting at the Pac-12 Challenge in April. He aided the Bears to wins over then-No. 7 Syracuse, No. 12 Stanford, No. 15 Wisconsin and No. 18 La Salle.
 
Barrell boasts a 3.96 grade-point average with a major in Business, graduating from the Haas School of Business this spring.  He won the Neufeld Scholar-Athlete Award, which goes to the graduating male and female senior with the highest grade-point average of all Cal student-athletes.  A two-time IRCA Scholar-Athlete and two-time Pac-12 Spring Academic Honor Roll member, Barrell was voted by his teammates to earn the team's Dean Witter Award for leading the team culture and setting the example of loyalty, proficiency and spirit. 
 
"It's always a good indication when the stroke of your varsity eight is winning the Scholar-Athlete award and graduating with a 3.96 GPA to set the standard with our academic excellence," Cal head coach Scott Frandsen said.
 
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 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum one year in residence at the institution.
 
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