Senior scrumhalf Solomon Williams was selected as the winner of the Rudy Scholz Award, given each year to the top collegiate rugby player in the nation, as announced by Goff Rugby Report on Monday. Williams became the first Cal player ever to win the award, two days after leading Cal to its second straight national championship.
 
"I'm very honored and blessed to receive this award," Williams said. "There's a lot of guys on this team that are also deserving of this award, so even though I won I'm proud to play and work alongside them, and it makes my job a whole lot easier having these guys around me."
 
Williams had a standout senior season for the Golden Bears, starting in 13 games and scoring nine tries. A two-time All-American, Williams played for the USA U18 team in 2022, the USA U20 team in 2023 and the 2024 USA U20 World Rugby Trophy team. He was also selected to the team USA U23's South Africa Tour this past summer. The Carlsbad product has played in 48 total XVs matches throughout his four-year Cal career and has scored 27 tries in XVs action.

"Our team and University are so proud of Sol," head coach Jack Clark said. "He is as good of a player as we have ever had, and he's the glue that holds our team together. He is a Cal man through and through."
 
The Scholz Award is named after Rudy Scholz, a standout football and rugby player at Santa Clara. Scholz was a decorated veteran of WWI before playing scrumhalf for Team USA in the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, in which the USA won gold each time.
 
A longtime rugby player who played his last game when he was 83, Scholz interrupted a successful legal career to volunteer in his 40s for the US Army in WWII. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in combat in Okinawa, Japan. Scholz returned to private life as a lawyer and the Washington Athletic Club was honored to have his youngest son, David, attend the WAC's Awards Dinner from its first year, in 2016, until he passed in 2021.
 
Williams will receive the award at a gala event at the Washington Athletic Club in Seattle on June 13.