LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV football standout Charles Williams and former women's basketball leader Bailey Thomas led a group of student-athletes recognized at the Third Annual Scarlet & Gray Awards Show, which was presented virtually for a second straight year Thursday night on UNLV Athletics' YouTube channel.
 
Williams was named the Mehdi Bouras Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year while Thomas won the Mehdi Bouras Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. The awards are named in honor of the memory of the late UNLV tennis star Mehdi Bouras who passed away suddenly in 2013 at the age of 24.

Williams, a senior last fall, is pursuing his master's degree in general studies after earning a bachelor's in journalism & media studies in 2020. The 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree has earned a spot on the Mountain West Academic All-Conference Team for three consecutive years. UNLV's nominee for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy, which is the most prestigious academic award in college football, Williams was a member of the Dean's Honors List his last four semesters as an undergraduate. On the field, Williams ranks fourth on the Rebels' career rushing list with 2,940 yards and led the Mountain West in rushing during the 2019 regular-season, earning first team all-league honors as a junior. Going into his Super Senior season in 2021, he needs 793 yards on the ground to become his school's all-time rushing king. 



Thomas recently completed an outstanding career for the Lady Rebels, both on the court and in the classroom. This month she is receiving her master's degree in accounting with a 4.0 GPA after earning her bachelor's degree in accounting as well. Thomas made her biggest mark on the Lady Rebels in her final season, becoming the first player in team history and only the third-ever UNLV student-athlete to be named a Senior CLASS Award candidate, and she is the first Lady Rebel to earn back-to-back Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year honors. A three-time MW All-Defensive Team member, the first at UNLV to accomplish that feat, she played the role of point guard for the first time in her career this season and promptly led the Lady Rebels (who were picked ninth in the preseason) to a second-place finish thanks to a MW-best 13 conference victories and a perfect 9-0 road record.


 
Other honors, voted on by the student-athletes, included Outstanding Team (the Mountain West champion volleyball squad), Best Upset (women's swimming & diving winning the MW Championship), Newcomers of the Year (Eric Bigani from baseball and Gaby Palmer from track & field), the Perseverance Award (Marvin Coleman from men's basketball) and Heart of a Rebel Award (Marienna Hayden from volleyball).

Also announced during the show were the Student-Athlete Academic Champions awards, which are given to each sport's most well-rounded leaders that demonstrate great academic achievement in addition to maintaining a productive role in their respective sport. Athletic academic advisors select each sport's academic champion based off the following criteria: GPA, degree path, credit load, academic class standing, contribution to their sport, community service and character.
 
Standing at an already school-record 187 (with more teams to be announced), UNLV student-athletes were honored for earning academic all-conference honors by achieving GPAs of 3.0 or higher in the MW and the Western Athletic Conference (men's soccer and men's swimming & diving), while a Rebel record 92 student-athletes were recognized in 2019-20 for being named to the MW's Scholar-Athlete Award list for having a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or greater in at least two semesters at UNLV.
 

2020-21 UNLV SCARLET & GRAY AWARDS
Mehdi Bouras Scholar-Athletes of the Year: 
Charles Williams (Football) and Bailey Thomas (Women's Basketball)
 
Newcomers of the Year: 
Gaby Palmer (Track & Field) and Eric Bigani (Baseball)

Best Upset Award: 
Women's Swimming & Diving Mountain West Championship

Perseverance Award: 
Marvin Coleman (Men's Basketball)

Outstanding Team Award: 
Volleyball

Heart of a Rebel Award: 
Mariena Hayden (Volleyball)

Academic Career Breakthrough Awards: 
Citlalli Alonso (Women's Soccer) and Giovanni Fauolo Sr. (Football)

SAAS Choice Awards: 
Hayden Prasad (Men's Soccer) and Alyssa Vigallon (Women's Soccer)

SAAC Leadership Award: 
Kacey Kiuchi (Women's Swimming & Diving)


UNLV TEAM ACADEMIC CHAMPIONS

Baseball - Brendan Brooks  
Men's Basketball -Trey Hurlburt
Women's Basketball - Bailey Thomas
Football - Kyle Beaudry
Men's Golf - JJ Gresco  
Women's Golf - Luka Van der Merwe
Pom - Sydney Christopherson
Men's Soccer - Chilo Sanchez
Women's Soccer - Isabella Perez
Softball - Maddie Schmidt
Men's Swimming and Diving - Ivan Zhukau  
Women's Swimming and Diving - Camila Quineche  
Men's Tennis - Zach Garner  
Women's Tennis - Samantha Smith  
Cross Country - Rebecca Green  
Track & Field - Acacia Astwood  
Volleyball - Kate Brennan
Rebel Girls and Company - Elizabeth Rudisill