University of Oklahoma Athletics
Elam, Carmichael Earn Gautt Scholarship
June 07, 2022 | Baseball, Athletics, Softball
NORMAN — University of Oklahoma softball player Lynnsie Elam and baseball player Braden Carmichael are among 20 student-athletes from Big 12 Conference schools named recipients of the 2021-22 Dr. Prentice Gautt Postgraduate Scholarship, the league office announced Tuesday. The total amount of each scholarship is $10,000.
Carmichael is the first Sooner baseball player ever to earn the scholarship, while Elam becomes the second OU softball player recipient and first since 2014-15.
The scholarships are named in honor of the late Dr. Prentice Gautt, a former Big 12 Conference staff member and student services' pioneer who passed away in March 2005. Gautt, who earned his undergraduate degree from OU in 1960, broke new ground in 1956 as the first African American football student-athlete on scholarship at the university under hall-of-fame head coach Bud Wilkinson.
A two-time All-Big Eight Conference football selection and CoSIDA Academic All-American, Gautt played professionally for the Cleveland Browns in 1960 and the St. Louis Cardinals from 1961-67.
The list of all-time recipients of the scholarship has grown to 481 since the league's inception in 1996-97. Starting in 2002-03, additional funding increased scholarship award winners to two per member institution.
The Big 12 has provided more than $3.7 million for postgraduate education to date. The individual grants began at $2,500 in 1996-97, were raised to $5,000 in 1999 and increased to $6,900 for 2004-05. The awards climbed to $7,500 in 2006-07, moved to $9,000 in 2011-12 and $10,000 in 2013-14.
Elam, a three-year captain for the Sooners, has excelled both on and off the field throughout her time in Norman. The Chickasha, Okla., native has played in over 200 games and started 163 in her five seasons. She holds a career batting average of .304 to go with 40 home runs and 137 RBIs. In her primary position at catcher, she ranks second in program history with a .993 career fielding percentage, registering 1,116 putouts and 69 assists to just eight errors. She is a two-time Women's College World Series participant, helping the Sooners to their fifth national title in program history in 2021 and chasing her second and the program's sixth this week.
Off the field, Elam is an exceptional student and member of the local community. A double major in health and exercise science and psychology, she holds a 3.87 GPA and is a four-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection. Additionally, she was a 2022 Senior CLASS Award finalist for softball.
On the baseball diamond, Carmichael has made 27 appearances and pitched 96.2 innings with 97 strikeouts across two seasons for the Sooners since transferring from Grayson College. During the 2021 season, the southpaw led the team in wins and led all starters in ERA. One of those wins came after 6.0 innings and seven strikeouts against No. 1 Arkansas. He earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors on May 10, 2021, after pitching 7.0 no-hit innings with 10 strikeouts against West Virginia. As Oklahoma's regular Tuesday starter this season, Carmichael notched victories against Wichita State, Oral Roberts and Texas Tech, and recorded 29 strikeouts in 28.2 innings.
The Prosper, Texas, native is on track to graduate in December 2022 with a bachelor's degree in sports business with a 3.32 cumulative GPA. Carmichael has also been named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll twice (Fall 2020, Fall 2021). He plans on using the scholarship to pursue a master's in either business administration or organizational leadership.
Criteria for the scholarship include a cumulative GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, and the student-athlete must have participated in at least two years of intercollegiate athletics. In addition, they must graduate from their respective institution and then enroll in a graduate or professional program within 15 months of their selection for the postgraduate scholarship.
