Benny Gealer Named ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Stanford continues to show why they offer the best of both worlds. A historic school for athletics, Stanford is a top academic institution both in the United States and the world, creating individuals that go on to have very successful lives and careers after graduating.

And for the student-athletes that go through the halls, each one excels both on and off the court, field or pool, showing just how talented and disciplined Stanford students are. That is part of what has made Stanford's streak of 49 consecutive years with a national title so impressive.

And on Tuesday, a Stanford sports star received a tremendous honor that further proves just how disciplined a student-athlete at Stanford is. Cardinal basketball guard Benny Gealer received the ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year, as announced earlier this week.

An economics major, Gealer has consistently been a top performer in the classroom, earning other academic awards such as being named to the ACC All-Academic team in 2025 and the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll in 2024, among others.

On the court, Gealer has put together his best season on The Farm, averaging 11.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists, and went for a career-high 30 points on Senior Day.

Gealer may not be considered a pro prospect, but his strong academic performance will set him up for a very successful career in whatever he decides to do next.

*The following is a press release sent out by Stanford University on Tuesday morning*

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Finding success on the court and in the classroom, Benny Gealer has been named the Skip Prosser Award recipient as the ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, as announced by the league office on Tuesday.

Gealer is Stanford men’s basketball’s sixth consecutive Scholar-Athlete of the Year, as Stanford won the final four Pac-12 awards in the category and Maxime Raynaud won the award in 2025 from the ACC. In addition to Raynaud, Gealer joins Oscar da Silva (2021), Sam Beskind (2022), James Keefe (2023) and Brandon Angel (2024), extending the program’s streak, and he becomes the 10th recipient of the honor from either conference, along with Dorian Pickens (2018), Chasson Randle (2015), Dwight Powell (2014) and Landry Fields (2010).

The men’s basketball program becomes the first of Stanford’s 36 teams to win six consecutive scholar-athlete of the year honors, dating back to the award’s inception in the Pac-10 in 2007-08, though women’s rowing has a chance to match the six consecutive honors later this spring. Stanford joins only North Carolina in winning consecutive Skip Prosser Awards, and the Cardinal is the first program to accomplish the feat with different players.

Gealer has had a full student-athlete experience at Stanford, starting as a walk-on and now in his third year on scholarship. He has developed in each of his years on campus, and he is the team’s captain as a senior.

One of the top 3-point shooters in the ACC, Gealer is averaging 11.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game while shooting a career-best 42.4 percent from beyond the arc, including 17 games with at least three 3-pointers.

Gealer ranks fourth in the ACC in 3-pointers per game (2.7) and he leads the ACC in 3-point percentage while ranking 21st nationally. An efficient player, Gealer ranks 22nd in the country in offensive rating, per KenPom. He currently ranks 12th in a single-season at Stanford with 78 triples and 16th in a career with 153, and his career 88.5 percent mark at the free throw line would rank second in program history.

Earning his degree in economics, Gealer is a two-time CSC Academic All-District honoree and an ACC All-Academic team selection in 2025. In his career, he has been named to academic honor rolls from the ACC, Pac-12 and NABC. The point guard is one of three starters in the ACC to play all four years at his current institution, and the only one to earn academic All-ACC honors a year ago.

Active off the court and in the Stanford community, Gealer has served as a research assistant to Professor Frank Wolak, conducting independent honors research in economics, analyzing NIL market inefficiencies, athlete compensation structures, and econometric modeling to evaluate equity outcomes in collegiate athletics. Additionally, he completed summer internship in 2025 with Silicon Valley Commercial Real Estate and previously interned with Newmark Commercial Real Estate in 2024.

Gealer has served as peer tutor within economics department throughout collegiate career and has been involved in various community projects, including serving as a Hillel guest speaker on a panel about antisemitism with former Stanford and professional player Dan Grunfeld. He is an active contributor with Team IMPACT, as the program has adopted a 12-year-old cancer survivor, and he participated in the East Palo Alto Holiday Outreach Initiative, a yearly program to create holiday experiences for local families in need.

Gealer has volunteered with terminally ill children at Stanford Hospital, engaging in basketball conversations, reading sessions and morale-building visits, and served as mentor to high school students from his former school, Rolling Hills Prep. In his hometown of Palos Verdes Estates, Gealer is a participant in the Esplanade Bluff Restoration Project and local beach cleanups when he is not on campus.

To be eligible for the Skip Prosser Award for ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, student-athletes must be in their third or fourth year of athletic competition while maintaining a minimum 3.0 grade point average cumulatively as well as in the two most recently completed terms. The award is based on 60 percent academic achievement and 40 percent athletic achievement.