Courtesy: UF Athletics
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of Florida women’s senior swimmer Tori Bindi and senior baseball infielder Kirby McMullen were named Florida’s student-athlete nominees for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year, as announced by the Southeastern Conference Friday.
The H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year is an annual academic award for the top scholar-athlete in the SEC. Each respective conference institution nominates a male and female student-athlete, with the ultimate selection of the two winners being made by the Faculty Athletics Representative Selection Committee.
The final announcement of the McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year winners will be announced on May 26. Additionally, the remaining 26 nominees will receive a $10,000 SEC Postgraduate Scholarship Award.
The nomination adds to a long list of academic and athletic achievements for Bindi, a Gulf Breeze, Fla., native.
Bindi, a biochemistry major, boasts a 3.94 grade point average and was recently named an Outstanding Leader of UF’s Spring 2020 graduating class, becoming the first student-athlete since 2015 to earn the honor. This year, she served as the President of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), met monthly with Athletic Director Scott Stricklin as members of the Gators Leadership Experience and represented Florida at the SEC Leadership Conference this past June.
Additionally, she achieved SEC Academic Honor Roll Status each year as a Gator, as well as earning CSCAA All-American and UF’s Anderson Scholar Award with Highest Distinction honors in 2018.
She has placed an extreme importance on career development away from campus, gaining experiences under Dr. David Fuller at the UF Brain Institute (research assistant), UF Shands Hospital (surgical services intern and physician shadowing) and the Andrews Institute (orthopedic surgery intern) in her hometown.
Bindi finished her swimming career at the 2020 SEC Championships, setting personal bests in the 100, 200 and 500 free. Additionally, she was a member of the sixth-place 800 free relay. As a junior in 2019, Bindi traveled to the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas as a member of the Gator 800 free relay.
Her next steps include receiving her undergrad degree with Cum Laude honors this spring and passing the MCAT in the near future. Bindi will continue to study with Dr. Fuller as his lab is aiming to create a gene therapy treatment for kids who are diagnosed with Pompe disease.
She will also begin to apply for schools across the nation to begin studies in the fall of 2021 with aspirations of becoming an orthopedic or pediatric plastic surgeon.
McMullen is set to graduate this weekend, and will earn his degree in food and resource economics with a 3.59 GPA. In his four years at Florida, McMullen made the Dean’s List twice, he SEC Academic Honor Roll three times, and in the fall of 2018 made the President’s Roll – which is awarded to students who achieve a 4.0 GPA with a course load of at least 15 credits.
This past December, the Ocala, Fla., native was one of Florida’s two participants for the 2019 SEC Career Tour, a three-day event which provided exposure for SEC student-athletes seeking career opportunities in a variety of fields. McMullen and the group visited the headquarters and executives of several corporations in the Atlanta area, including Cox Communications, NCR Corporation, Winning Edge Leadership Academy, The Home Depot, and UPS.
In the summer of 2018, McMullen completed an internship with Dinkins Construction, where he assisted with the management and clean up at job sites.
McMullen, a contributing member of Florida’s 2017 NCAA Championship-winning team and two SEC title-winning teams in 2017 and 2018, carved out a starting role as a senior this past season. He hit .278 with 10 runs batted in, along with four doubles and a team-high 14 walks. McMullen’s .458 on-base percentage ranked second on the team.
McMullen intends to return to Florida for the 2021 season via the NCAA’s eligibility relief waiver for spring student-athletes.
