Oklahoma's Lynnsie Elam, Braden Carmichael Land Prentice Gautt Big 12 Scholarships

Oklahoma is getting it done on the diamond and in the classroom.

Senior Lynnsie Elam from the OU softball team and junior Braden Carmichael from the Sooner baseball team 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.

Each award is $10,000 to apply to postgraduate studies.

Carmichael, from Prosper, TX, and Grayson Junior College, is the first Sooner baseball player to earn the scholarship, while Elam becomes the second OU softball recipient and first since 2014-15.

Elam, a three-year captain from Chickasha, OK, has appeared in more than 200 games with 163 starts in her five-year career. Elam’s career batting average is .304 going into Wednesday’s Women’s College World Series championship series against Texas. Elam has 40 career home runs with 137 RBIs and ranks second in program history with a .993 career fielding percentage (mostly at catcher).

In the classroom, Elam is a double major in health and exercise science and psychology with a 3.87 GPA and is a four-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection. She also was a 2022 Senior CLASS Award finalist for softball.

Carmichael has made 27 appearances and pitched 96 2/3 innings with 97 strikeouts in two seasons for the Sooners since transferring from Grayson College. In 2021, the left-hander led the team in wins and led all starters in earned run average, including a six-inning, seven-strikeout performance in the Sooners’ victory over No. 1 Arkansas. He was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on May 10, 2021, after pitching seven no-hit innings with 10 strikeouts against West Virginia.

Carmichael carries a 3.32 cumulative GPA and is on track to graduate in December 2022 with a bachelor's degree in sports business. Carmichael has also been named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll twice (Fall 2020, Fall 2021) and intends to pursue a master's in either business administration or organizational leadership.

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, from Oklahoma City, was the first African-American football student-athlete on scholarship at OU under Hall of Fame head coach Bud Wilkinson. Gautt earned his undergraduate degree from OU in 1960.

Gautt, a two-time All-Big Eight Conference running back and Academic All-American, played in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns in 1960 and the St. Louis Cardinals from 1961-67.

The Big 12 has awarded 481 Gautt postgrad scholarships since the league's inception in 1996-97. Beginning in 2002-03, the scholarship award was increased to allow two recipients per school.

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.

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.