Center Valley, Pennsylvania (March 11, 2024) – Sr. katie mcgrath Members of the DeSales University field hockey team have been awarded NCAA graduate scholarships, the NCAA announced last week.
The NCAA awards 126 graduate scholarships each year, 63 to men and 63 to women. This scholarship is awarded to student-athletes who are academically and athletically outstanding and in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. Her one-time, non-renewable scholarships of $10,000 each will be awarded three times a year for each sports season (fall, winter, spring). Each sports season, there are 21 scholarships for men and 21 scholarships for women available for use in accredited graduate programs.
McGrath, a biology and chemistry double major, was a five-year member of the field hockey team and graduated this December with a near-perfect 3.99 cumulative GPA.
She finished her career with a long list of honors, including being named the 2023 MAC Senior Scholar-Athlete in Field Hockey. McGrath was named to the FH Academic All-MAC team three times and the 2023 CSC Academic All-America Third Team. She was named to the CSC Academic All-District First Team in 2022 and the NFHCA Senior Team in 2023. She was a three-time All-MAC Freedom First Team, two-time MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Year and MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year. In 2019, she was named the Most Valuable Player of the MAC Freedom Postseason Tournament, and in 2022, she was named Most Valuable Player.
Additionally, McGrath was named to the NFHCA All-Region Second Team in 2019, first team twice in 2022 and 2023, and also earned ECAC Rookie of the Year honors in 2019. She was named Zag FH/NFHCA Division III National Academic. She earned the FH/NFHCA Division III Distinguished Scholar Award five times and the MAC Fall Academic Honor Award five times.
She finished her career having appeared in 76 games, ranking fifth all-time in both points (34) and points (82).
Ms. McGrath will continue her education at the University of North Carolina School of Pharmacy and pursue a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD).
McGrath becomes the ninth student-athlete in DeSales University history and the second female student-athlete to earn an NCAA graduate scholarship. George Bilicic Jr. (Men's Basketball – 1985), Vic Longo (Men's Cross Country – 2000), Andrew Ferretti (Men's Cross Country – 2010), kenny ridge (Baseball – 2012), Nate Knoll (Men's Cross Country – 2014), Gabe Lamb (Men's Cross Country – 2018), Matthew Kraus (Men's Track and Field – 2021), and Tyra Wingle (Field Hockey – 2023).
