Creighton’s Taryn Kloth Named BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Star outside hitter for the Bluejays will be awarded a $4,000 scholarship, which can be applied to postgraduate studies.
NEW YORK – Creighton volleyball standout Taryn Kloth was named the BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Presented by Sunkist, the league announced on Wednesday. Recently announced as a BIG EAST Michael Tranghese Postgraduate Leadership award winner, Kloth will be awarded a $4,000 scholarship, which may be applied to graduate or professional studies. The selection was made by the Conference’s Academic Affairs Committee.
Kloth is Creighton’s second BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Lauren Smith, also a member of the Bluejays volleyball team, earned the honor in 2017. Kloth is the sixth volleyball player in BIG EAST history to earn the award.
The Conference also announced the female winners of the 2018-19 BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships, Presented by Sunkist. Each institutional winner receives $2,000 toward graduate studies.
Kloth finished her undergraduate degree in finance services and her playing career at Creighton in December 2018. During her time with the Bluejays, Kloth has been a part of four BIG EAST regular season and four BIG EAST tournament championships, including an NCAA Elite Eight run in 2016. Kloth was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team twice (2016, 2018), unanimously in 2018. In 2017, she earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors and was the BIG EAST Tournament Most Valuable Player. Kloth was also a member of the All-Tournament Team in 2018. Nationally, Kloth earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Honorable Mention in 2016 and 2018. She was also an AVCA All-East Region honorable mention in 2017.
In the classroom, Kloth has been recognized as a Senior CLASS Award Second Team All-American and a 2018 CoSIDA Third Team Academic All-American as she boasted a cumulative GPA of 3.87. She is a three-time member of the BIG EAST All-Academic Team and received internal recognition from Creighton as a recipient of the Financial Executives International Scholarship as a junior. In addition to her work in the classroom and on the court, Kloth has contributed hours of community service through many different programs both on campus and off through Project Harmony, St. Pius for Children clinic, Hope Center for Kids and more.
In January, Kloth began her postgraduate studies in the MBA program at LSU, while also playing on the Tigers beach volleyball squad.
Twenty student-athletes (one male and one female from each of the BIG EAST’s 10 member institutions will be named as BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete award winners. The BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year was also announced. This year, the award went to Creighton men's soccer standout Sven Koenig. It is the fifth time the award has come from the same school. The last time was in 2016 when St. John's student-athletes Thomas Hackimer, baseball and Rachel Daly, women's soccer won.
2018-19 BIG EAST Institutional Female Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Sunkist
| School |
Name, Sport(s) |
| Butler |
Paige Monaghan, Soccer |
| Creighton |
Taryn Koth, Volleyball |
| DePaul |
Morgan Greenwood, Softball |
| Georgetown |
Caitlin Farrell, Soccer |
| Marquette |
Julie Clayton, Track & Field |
| Providence |
Millie Paladino, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| St. John’s |
Madison Morris, Softball |
| Seton Hall |
Sophia Coffey, Volleyball |
| Villanova |
Nicole Hutchinson, Track & Field |
| Xavier |
Mikayla Fitzpatrick, Golf |
BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athletes Of The Year Presented by Sunkist
| Year |
Name, School, Sport |
| 1985 |
Leigh Curl, Connecticut, Basketball |
| 1986 |
Joanne Keehs, Villanova, Track & Field |
| 1987 |
Karen Ferreria, Providence, Volleyball |
| 1988 |
Noreen Coughlin, Pittsburgh, Volleyball |
| 1989 |
Vicki Huber, Villanova, Track & Field |
| 1990 |
Siobhan Gallagher, Providence, Track & Field |
| 1991 |
Cami White, Providence, Field Hockey |
| 1992 |
Kelly Larkin, Syracuse, Field Hockey |
| 1993 |
Nnenna Lynch, Villanova, Track & Field |
| 1994 |
Allison Williams, Pittsburgh, Track & Field |
| 1995 |
Becky Spies, Villanova, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 1996 |
Najuma Fletcher, Pittsburgh, Track & Field |
| 1997 |
Jen Renola, Notre Dame, Soccer |
| 1998 |
Charity Wachera, West Virginia, Track & Field |
| 1999 |
Gladys Ganiel, Providence, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 2000 |
Jenny Streiffer, Notre Dame, Soccer |
| 2001 |
Ruth Riley, Notre Dame, Basketball |
| 2002 |
Jarrah Myers, Notre Dame, Softball |
| 2003 |
Erin McIntyre, Rutgers, Swimming & Diving |
| 2004 |
Vanessa Pruzinsky, Notre Dame, Soccer |
| 2005 |
Nicole Lee, Georgetown, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 2006 |
Kelly Harrigan, Rutgers, Swimming & Diving |
| 2007 |
Jessica Javelet, Louisville, Field Hockey |
| 2008 |
Jillian Drouin, Syracuse, Track & Field |
| 2009 |
Jennifer Kleinhans, Connecticut, Field Hockey |
| 2010 |
Meagan Dooley, Pittsburgh, Volleyball |
| 2011 |
Maya Moore, Connecticut, Basketball |
| 2012 |
Natalie Kulla, Marquette, Soccer |
| 2013 |
Sam Roecker, Providence, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 2014 |
Emily Sisson, Providence, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 2015 |
Shelbey Manthorpe, Seton Hall, Volleyball |
| 2016 |
Rachel Daly, St. John’s, Soccer |
| 2017 |
Lauren Smith, Creighton, Volleyball |
| 2018 |
Alexis Walkden, Seton Hall, Softball |
| 2019 |
Taryn Kloth, Creighton, Volleyball |