LA JOLLA—Kevin Warren is a serious man. He's serious about his hoops. He's serious about his podcast. His serious about his team. And he's serious about his education. He walks through the halls of Acker Gym focused and thoughtfully.

All of that work both in class and on the basketball court, was rewarded Friday morning when the junior guard was presented with the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Scholar Award. The honor goes to the student-athlete with the highest grade point average at each CCAA Championships finals site.

Head Coach Greg Clink opened the postgame press conference following the Wildcats' CCAA semifinals loss Friday, by praising Warren.

"I just want to start by saying how proud I am of Kevin Warren. This guy epitomizes what it means to be a student-athlete," Clink said. "I thought he got short changed on the All-Conference team but this one, to me, means even more. He's a guy that shows up to practice every day, works his butt off, competes, and competes even harder in the classroom."

Warren is a senior academically and is set to graduate in May with his degree in Communication Studies.

 "It's just working hard," said Warren. "Time management is big. The last couple years I've just tried to manage my time with practice and school and then putting up extra shots on the court and just doing the extra little things, extra work load, in the classroom."