Dec. 7, 2017

Video Archive of the Ceremony

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Former Virginia men’s tennis player Thai-Son Kwiatkowski was named one of the NCAA’s Top 10 Recipients, announced on Thursday (Dec. 7). In January, 10 exceptional former student-athletes will be honored as the 2018 Today’s Top 10 Award winners at the NCAA Convention.

The ceremony will stream live online on Facebook Live (watch here) as well as being streamed on Twitter on the @InsidetheNCAA account.

Kwiatkowski won the individual 2017 NCAA Division I national championship in singles competition and led Virginia to three straight team NCAA titles (2015, 2016 and 2017) and the 2017 Intercollegiate Tennis Association national team indoor title. Kwiatkowski is a three-time ITA All-American and a first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference member. Twice named Virginia’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year, he was the ACC’s Men’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year for two years and was a four-time ACC All-Academic Team member. In 2017, Kwiatkowski also was named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar, and he qualified for the athletics honor roll in seven semesters.

Kwiatkowski is the sixth Virginia student-athlete to earn the award. He joins Peggy Boutilier (1999) – lacrosse and field hockey, Tiki Barber (1997) – football, Michael Fisher (1997) – soccer, James Dombrowski (1986) – football, Richard Giusto (1983) – lacrosse.

The award recognizes former student-athletes for their successes on the field, in the classroom and in the community. Recipients completed their athletics eligibility during the 2016-17 academic year and will be recognized at the Honors Celebration on Jan. 17 during the Convention in Indianapolis.

The NCAA Honors Committee, which selects the honorees, is composed of representatives from member schools and conferences, as well as nationally distinguished former college athletes.

Before 2013, the award recognized eight student-athletes and was known as Today’s Top VIII. The NCAA Honors Committee expanded the award to include 10 honorees to recognize the growing number of college athletes, sports and championship opportunities.

The following former student-athletes are the 2018 Today’s Top 10 awardees:
Kasey Cooper, Auburn softball
Danielle Galyer, Kentucky swimming
Sarah Gibson, Texas A&M swimming
Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Virginia tennis
Maggie Steffens, Stanford water polo
Marie Coors, Saint Leo golf
Riley Hanson, Concordia St. Paul volleyball
Lizzy Crist, Washington University soccer
Amy Regan, Stevens Institute of Technology track and field
Deko Ricketts, Washington University track and field