Watson Awarded Prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
ADA, Okla. – East Central University Athletics proudly celebrates
Jami Watson, a four-year standout on the Tiger softball team, who has been awarded the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for the Spring 2024-25 season.
This distinguished honor is one of the NCAA's highest recognitions for student-athletes, both academically and athletically. Watson is one of just 21 female student-athletes across all NCAA divisions to receive the award for the spring season and will apply the $10,000 scholarship toward her graduate degree work in ocean engineering at Texas A&M University.
"I am so honored to have been awarded this scholarship and am also grateful that God put me in a place to receive it," Watson said. "It was through ECU Athletics, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and
Dr. Nick Stowers that I came to learn about this scholarship and was encouraged to apply for it. It will have a huge impact on my graduate studies and future endeavors. Thank you, NCAA!"
Each year, the NCAA awards 126 postgraduate scholarships to student-athletes who have completed their final year of athletics competition. The scholarships are distributed three times annually — in the fall, winter and spring — providing 21 scholarships each to men and women per season. The award is a one-time, nonrenewable scholarship aimed at funding graduate study at an accredited institution.
Established in 1964, the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship program promotes and encourages graduate education by recognizing the Association's most accomplished student-athletes. The program evaluates candidates on their athletic and academic achievements, campus involvement, community service and leadership. An equitable selection process ensures that all nominees, regardless of sport, division, gender or race, are considered fairly.
Watson is among a select few from the NCAA Division II level to receive the award this spring. She is one of only three student-athletes selected from the Division II Central Region, and the only recipient from the Great American Conference. The last ECU softball player to earn this distinction was
Autumn Wyatt (formerly Autumn Suydam), now the program's head coach, who received the scholarship in 2016.
A native of Bee Cave, Texas, Watson graduated summa cum laude in 2025 with a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics while serving as ECU SAAC President.
