Hokie ClubExcelling on the court and in the classroom, Virginia Tech men's and women's basketball student-athletes Justyn Mutts and Elizabeth Kitley both had incredible years all around.
The duo made Virginia Tech the first school to win both ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards – male and female – in the same academic year. Kitley was tabbed the Kay Yow Award for women's basketball, while Mutts was the recipient of the Skip Prosser Award for men's basketball.
ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were established in September 2007 to be awarded annually to the top junior or senior student-athlete in their respective sports. Candidates for the awards must have maintained a 3.0 grade point average for their career as well as a 3.0 for each of the last two semesters. The award is based 60 percent on academic achievement and 40 percent on athletic accomplishment.
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Both Mutts and Kitley were key cogs in the Hokies' runs in their respective ACC Tournaments, with Mutts leading the men's team to its first-ever ACC title and Kitley getting the women's team to the semifinals for the first time ever.
A Senior CLASS Award finalist, Mutts earned his undergraduate degree in psychology and a master's degree in agricultural and life sciences and currently is pursuing his third degree, a second master's degree in educational psychology, which he is on track to earn in May. The 2021-22 team captain was a 2021 ACC All-Academic Team selection and is a regular on the Athletics Director's Honor Roll.
Kitley was a 2020-21 All-ACC Academic Team honoree and is a two-time recipient of ACC Honor Roll laurels. She has been named to Virginia Tech's Dean's List and the Athletics Director's Honor Roll. She also earned ACC Player of the Year honors, becoming the first Hokie to do so in women's basketball.
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