Georgia’s Jackson Bates & Abby McCulloh Named Joel Eaves Scholar-Athlete Award Winners

Courtesy: Georgia Athletics

ATHENS, Ga. – University of Georgia swimmers Jackson Bates and Abby McCulloh have been named recipients of the 2024-25 Joel Eaves Scholar-Athlete Award. The pair will be honored during Saturday’s Mississippi State football game.

The award is presented annually to the male and female student-athletes with the highest grade point average upon entering the fall of semester of his or her senior year, based on academic hour rather than eligibility.  Additionally, a student-athlete must have earned at least two varsity letters to be eligible for the award.

Eaves was the Director of Athletics at UGA from 1963-1979, and the award was established with the aim of acknowledging the contributions he made during his tenure while also highlighting the academic achievements of current student-athletes.

Bates, an Athens native majoring in Biology, has been a vital member of Georgia’s men’s breaststroke group, competing in three events at last season’s SEC Championships, along with earning an NCAA B-cut time in the 200-yard breaststroke. During the 2023-24 season, he set new personal-best times in three events and earned a pair of victories in dual meet competition. He has twice been named to both the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team and CSCAA Scholar All-America Team, as well as the 2024 SEC Swimming & Diving Community Service Team. He also currently serves as the co-vice president of the UGA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

McCulloh, a Lilburn native majoring in Journalism with a minor in Sport Management, just turned in a career year as she became Georgia’s seventh NCAA champion in the 1,650y freestyle, winning in her home pool with a Bauerle Pool-record and personal-best time of 15:37.74, after previously finishing sixth in the 500y freestyle. She also won the SEC title in the mile and earned a bronze medal in the 500y free. During the season, she was consistently ranked as the nation’s fastest swimmer in the mile and twice set pool records in the 1,000y freestyle, earning SEC Swimmer of the Week honors in the process. In the summer, she finished 10^th in the 800m freestyle and 11^th in the 1,500m freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Indianapolis.

McCulloh was named to the College Sports Communicators Women’s Swimming & Diving Academic All-America First Team, CSC Academic All-District Team, and was recognized as SEC Women’s Swimming & Diving Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

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