GREENSBORO, N.C. — Notre Dame senior captain Cason Wilburn continues to be a model student-athlete in and out of the pool.
On Friday, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced that 53 student-athletes have been selected to receive postgraduate scholarship awards, and three of them have earned the Jim & Pat Thacker Scholarship. Wilburn is a part of the trio.
“The student-athletes in the ACC are amazing, and we are especially proud to honor this year’s class of ACC Postgraduate Scholarship recipients that represent our 15 world-class institutions,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D., said “The academic and athletic resumes of these 53 student-athletes are incredible, and we applaud their dedication and commitment to excellence. We look forward to continuing to support these tremendous individuals as they approach the future, which is incredibly bright for each of them.”
Those honored with the scholarship “have performed with distinction in both the classroom and their respective sport, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community,” per an ACC press release. Each of them will receive $6,000 to put toward a graduate program of their choice.
Wilburn has been a star for the Irish since setting foot on campus four years ago. He has qualified for NCAAs each year since he was a freshman, and he is poised to potentially make the team once again. Wilburn has been a member of several record-breaking relay teams while at Notre Dame, most recently helping to down the program records in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays last weekend at the 2023 ACC Championships.
In addition to his swimming accolades, Wilburn has earned honors such as the 2021 Patrick Reilly McManus Teammate Award, 2022 ACC Top-Six for Service Award, 2022 Male Swiss Army Knife Award and 2022 Community Champion Award.
Wilburn has made a great impact in the South Bend community during his collegiate career by starting the “Pass It On” program. For four weeks in the spring, Wilburn and several teammates taught lessons to local middle schoolers using the nearby Washington High School pool. In addition to the time in the water, the Irish swimmers preached leadership qualities and skills that are applicable across all sports and aspects of life. They always ended with a fun, confidence-boosting activity for the sixth and seventh graders. Earlier this calendar year, he received the 2022 ACC UNITE Award for his contributions in that area.
In addition to Wilburn, three other Irish student-athletes were a part of the news release this week. Notre Dame football captain JD Bertrand and women’s lacrosse captain Madison Ahern will be recognized as ACC Postgraduate Scholars. Irish basketball standout Cormac Ryan is an honorary scholarship nominee. The complete list of scholarship recipients can be found here.