California volleyball's Sophie Scott has been named an honoree for the CalHOPE Courage Award, which recognizes student-athletes at California universities and colleges who have overcome adversity and mental trauma that arises from personal hardships or injury.
 
The CalHOPE Courage Award was established in 2022 by CalHOPE, a multi-level mental and behavioral health crisis support resource operated by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), in conjunction with the Associated Press (AP) and College Sports Communicators (CSC). Scott will be a finalist for the overall 2025-26 CalHOPE Courage Award, which will be presented to one male and one female athlete in May 2026. She is the first Cal athlete to be named an honoree in the 2025-26 season and the first player in program history to earn recognition.
 
After serious injuries to her left ACL, left MCL and both menisci forced her to sit out her senior season of high school volleyball, Scott arrived at Cal in Fall 2022 and quickly established herself as one of the Bears' standout players, earning a starting spot as a freshman and finishing the season as one of the Pac-12's top-10 blockers. The following spring, however, she faced another setback with a meniscus cleanup surgery the following spring that forced her to miss half of her sophomore season. Scott worked her way back into the starting lineup and posted the team's second-highest number of blocks in conference play but tore her right ACL just a few months later and was unable to suit up her entire junior year.
 
With the aid of her teammates, medical team and coaches, Scott was able to endure this latest setback and overcome her doubts and many months of strenuous rehab and healing to don the Blue & Gold once more. Now, as a senior, she is focused on helping the Bears however she can (be it from a starting role or off the bench) while completing her media studies and supporting her father Paul, who was recently diagnosed with cancer.
 
"Sophie is very deserving of this award and has demonstrated the true meaning of what it embodies," Cal volleyball head coach Jen Malcom said. "I'm not sure how many athletes could go through what Sophie has been through and still be playing and making a difference for their team. Four knee surgeries in six years, three in the last year-and-a-half – not many are putting themselves back on the court to risk another injury, but Sophie was determined to get back and show that she can do it. She has an amazing support group around her with her parents and Liz Mannering, our trainer, who has put countless hours along with Sophie's doctors and physical therapists into getting her back on the court. I can't express how fantastic it is to see Sophie out there competing in her senior year and defying the odds that she was up against. Sophie, we are so proud of you and we love you."
 
To honor Scott's perseverance and celebrate her as an honoree, CalHOPE will donate one thousand dollars in her name to the American Cancer Society. Scott herself will be recognized on the court before Sunday's match against No. 3 Pitt.
 
 
CalHope Courage Award – Cal Honorees & Winners
Amaya Gray & Anysa Gray (Women's Soccer) – Oct. 2022 Honoree; 2022-23 Winners
Brett Johnson (Football) – Jan. 2024 Honoree
Darren Wong (Men's Gymnastics) – April 2024 Honoree
Mya Wang (Lacrosse) – Sept. 2024 Honoree; 2024-25 Winner
 
 
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