Erzen named SEC McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year

FAYETTEVILLE – Two-sport Razorback senior Ainsley Erzen has been named the 2025-26 Southeastern Conference Female H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Commissioner Greg Sankey announced on Wednesday.

Erzen was chosen by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from SEC universities and will receive a $20,000 post-graduate scholarship.

A member of Arkansas soccer as well as Razorback track and field, Erzen is the second UA soccer player to receive the prestigious honor and first female track and field athlete from the University of Arkansas.

Previously, Bea Franklin with soccer earned the honor in 2024 while Nathanael Franks with men’s track and field collected the award in 2016.

“First of all, I’m just so grateful they gave me the opportunity to do both sports,” stated Erzen. “At a school like Arkansas, especially with programs like soccer and track, they truly have been some of the most successful sports here.

“The fact they were willing to give me the opportunity was huge and says a lot about them and what they saw in me, which was really amazing.”

Erzen graduated with a 4.00 GPA with a Bachelor of Arts/Rhetoric and Writing Studies with a Religious Studies Minor. She has been named to SEC Academic Honor Roll, Chancelor’s List, Champions Honor Roll, and Dean’s List four consecutive years. Erzen also serves on the Arkansas’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

“It’s a fantastic accomplishment,” stated Arkansas women’s track and field head coach Chris Johnson. “It’s a tribute to all the hard work she does on and off the track as well as the on and off the soccer field. Being able to manage being a two-sport athlete for four years and not having any serious injuries.

“Being a contributor on both sides of the coin, she was part of two national championship teams with track and an All-American on those teams as well. This young lady exudes what it means to be an Arkansas Razorback. She is such a tremendous person, and is fun to be around. We can’t be any more proud of her.”

Razorback soccer head coach Colby Hale noted: “I’m so proud of Ainsley and that she is being recognized for her hard work on and off the field. She has played a huge part in our success with multiple SEC Championships and postseason runs. Her athletic ability is one thing, but the work she puts towards academics serves as a perfect example of what a student-athlete is and we are all so glad she is a Razorback.”

Balancing two high profile sports on the collegiate level along with her academic schedule is a goal Erzen aimed on achieving at the highest level she could at Arkansas.

“One of the things they say at soccer all the time is how you do anything is how you do everything,” said Erzen. “I think that’s a theme my family instilled in me as I was growing up, too.

“The idea that if you’re going to do something, you might as well do it well and you might as well give it your all. I think that transferred into my academics as well, kind of just having pride in myself and in my work. I’m grateful to Arkansas because they truly do provide us with all the resources we need to be successful as long as we take advantage of them.”

Soccer head coach Colby Hale and women’s track and field head coach Chris Johnson worked together in planning out each season for Erzen, who competed in soccer during the fall semester and transitioned to track and field during the spring semester.

“I will always be grateful for them for putting me in a position where I could just go for this dream that I’ve had since I was a kid that a lot of people told me I was crazy for having,” noted Erzen. “So to have some of the best coaches in the country commit to it was really special.

“For so long, throughout high school, and even through college, I had people telling me I need to pick one or the other or really like hone in on one, put all my focus in one. But I truly believe that I wouldn’t be as good as I am at either without the other.”

In soccer, Erzen was part of Razorback squads that reached the Elite Eight in the 2022 NCAA tournament and twice claimed the SEC Championship (2023, 2025). In her four seasons with Arkansas soccer the team compiled a 29-5-6 SEC record in that span and an overall record of 54-16-14 while playing 11 matches in the NCAA tournament.

Erzen totaled 30 career starts with six goals, three of which were game-winners, and supplied four assists as an outside midfielder.

“I think I’ve grown a lot as a person and I’ve gotten to accomplish some really amazing things that are way beyond what I ever expected,” noted Erzen. “I’ve been on multiple SEC championship teams in soccer and track. I’ve made it to the Elite Eight in soccer. I’ve become a second-team All-American in track. I’ve set a collegiate record on our 4 x 800m relay team.

“So, there have been so many blessings and achievements that are so far beyond anything I could have imagined coming into it.”

With Arkansas track and field, Erzen was a member of two NCAA Championship teams (2024 Indoor, 2024 Outdoor) along with three SEC Championship teams (2023 Outdoor, 2024 & 2025 Indoor).

She earned a pair of second-team All-America honors at NCAA Indoor competitions while scoring at the SEC Championships on four occasions, three times in the 800m and once in the distance medley relay.

Erzen ran second leg (2:04.2 split) of the Razorback 4 x 800m relay that set a collegiate record of 8:16.12 to win the 2025 Texas Relays title and included soccer teammate Anna Podojil. She also ran first leg (3:20.22) of the distance medley relay when Arkansas broke the school record by five seconds with a 10:44.09 performance during the 2026 indoor season.

Individually, Erzen produced a trio of times that rank among the top 10 on the UA all-time indoor list. She ranks No. 3 in the 1,000m (2:43.68), No. 5 in the 600m (1:28.83), and No. 7 in the 800m (2:02.46).

“I think that’s how you get to this level is by never necessarily being satisfied with yourself, but by still being grateful,” said Erzen. “I truly have accomplished things that I never could have imagined and experienced so many things that people don’t get to experience.

“I mean, yes, the accomplishments are amazing, but even the people I’ve met and the places that I’ve gotten to go through the two sports are things that are truly so rare and that so many people don’t get to experience.”