Ella Emmert & Ryan Merani Obtain SEC Brad Davis Community Service Award – UK Athletics

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Southeastern Conference introduced the female and male Brad Davis Community Service Award Winners – recipients that additionally will obtain a $7,500 post-graduate scholarship offered by the SEC – for every of its 16 member establishments on Thursday. This yr, the University of Kentucky is represented by Ella Emmert of softball and Ryan Merani from males’s swimming and diving.

The SEC Community Service Post-Graduate Scholarship is called for former Associate Commissioner Brad Davis. Davis succumbed to most cancers on March 2, 2006. He had been a member of the SEC employees since 1988, first serving as an assistant commissioner till he was promoted to affiliate commissioner in 1994.

Emmert, a Lexington, Kentucky, native, serves because the UK Athletics Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President. Emmert, who has logged greater than 192 service hours in her school profession, can also be closely concerned with a number of faith-based organizations, together with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and God’s Pantry. With God’s Pantry, she helps pack lunches for underserved kids locally and delivers them to native elementary and center colleges within the space.

Most excellent this season, she organized and led a department-wide shoe drive for Soles4Souls. She positioned bins all through athletic amenities and on campus, encouraging of us to donate. She then coordinated logistics to have the shoe donations shipped and distributed.

On the sphere, Emmert earned the beginning catcher spot in 2026. She has performed because the Wildcats’ main catcher in 40 of the 47 video games, hitting .233 on the season with 23 hits and 10 runs scored. Emmert hit the primary three house runs of her five-year school profession this season, along with her first coming towards Northern Illinois within the Blues City Classic hosted by Memphis.

The Wildcat, who has been voted a three-time staff captain (2024, 2025, 2026), boasts a 3.69 grade-point common and is ready to graduate with a level in Human Health Science in May. She has been accepted into Johns Hopkins University, the place she’s going to pursue a Master’s of Science in Organizational Leadership.

From Timonium, Maryland, Ryan Merani represents the swimming and diving program. The senior, who has clocked greater than 132 hours of neighborhood service, has labored tirelessly each out and in of the pool as evident by being inducted into the Frank G. Ham Society of Character. Like Emmert, he typically spends time with FCA and God’s Pantry, whereas additionally serving quite a few different causes and organizations in Central Kentucky.

In the pool, Merani primarily competed in butterfly and IM. The Wildcat, who was named a staff captain in 2026, etched his title into the report ebook throughout his school profession at Kentucky. He at present holds three program data, together with being a three-time NCAA Qualifier, SEC Championship A-Finalist, and Olympic Trials Qualifier.

Merani will graduate with a level in Health Promotion in May, and he plans to stay in Lexington and attend the University of Kentucky to get a Master’s diploma in Sports and Exercise Psychology.

Emmert and Merani are each nominees for the female and male Brad Davis Community Service Leaders of the Year awards, which will likely be introduced later in May. The general winners will obtain $10,000.