CHENEY, Wash. — The 2024-25 Scholar Athletes were announced today by the Big Sky conference and Eastern Washington's
Efton Chism III and
Kate Hatch represented the Eagles with the academic honor.
Hatch completed her master's degree in Wellness and Movement Science in May, while Chism III earned his bachelor's degree in Health and Physical Education in June of 2024.
Chism played in last game as an Eagle in the fall of 2024 to cap off a record-breaking career and season.
As a student-athlete, Chism piled up the academic awards, earning FCS ADA Academic All-Star in 2023 and 2024. He earned Big Sky All-Academic honors all five years he studied at Eastern.
On the field, Chism rewrote the EWU and NCAA record books, setting the FCS record with 53 consecutive games with a catch, breaking Cooper Kupp's record.
Along with the national record, Chism broke Kupp's single season EWU reception record in the fall with 120 catches. The season reception also led the FCS. Chism finished his career with 346 receptions, second behind Kupp. His 3852 career receiving yards and 37 touchdowns both rank third in the Eastern record books.
Chism's final season was the most prolific of his career, finishing with 1311 receiving yards that led the Big Sky and ranked second in the nation, along with being 10th all-time in program history. He pulled in 13 touchdowns to lead the conference and rank fifth in the FCS. Chism's receptions, yards and touchdowns were all career-bests. During the '24 season, Chism set single game bests with 173 receiving yards against Monmouth, 15 receptions against UC Davis, while matching his career-best with three-touchdown games against both the Hawks and Montana. Chism earned six first team All-American awards in 2024, giving him 10 total for his career. He also earned his second All-Big Sky first team honor.
Chism was signed by the New England Patriots in April as an undrafted free agent, earning praise from the team's coaches, players and media.
Kate Hatch arrived from Northern Arizona University in the fall of 2023 and has played in 57 matches in her time with EWU.
In May she won the ACSM NW Award and represented the North West Chapter at the ACSM National Competition. Her work involved a challenging recruitment process focused on older adults and required extensive time commitments, including evening and weekend data collection.
Last season Kate was second on the team in assists for the Eags with 472 assists. She recorded 20 plus assists in nine games for the Eagles. In her last match she recorded 18 assists to cap off her career as EWU.
Since transferring to EWU, Kate has recorded 16 double doubles, with 9 of those occurring this past season.
2025 EWU football tickets are now on sale! Join Spokane County's team for all five home games at Roos Field in Cheney starting as low as $99. Group tickets, fundraising options and single game tickets are also available. For more info, visit goeags.com/fbtickets or contact the EWU Ticket Office at 509-359-6059 or tickets@ewu.edu.
Join the Eagle Athletic Fund for as low as $50 per year! Support Eagle student-athletes on and off the field while enjoying exclusive EAF perks such as season ticket and tailgating priority, invitations to special events, exclusive access and more. Visit goeags.com/eaf for more information.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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