Kansas Athletics Celebrate Graduates in K Ring Ceremony

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas Athletics celebrated the 2025 graduating student-athletes at its annual K Ring ceremony Monday evening at the Kansas Union Woodruff Auditorium.

Besides recognizing the 119 graduating student-athletes, the program featured several awards presentations as well as appearances by the K Club board members consisting of former student athletes. The highlight of the event came when former KU football standout Brandon McAnderson presented the graduating senior Jayhawks with their K rings. McAnderson, who served as the emcee for the evening, discussed the importance of the rings and how each ring is a symbol of the athletes' past, present and future.

Former Kansas Director of Athletics Dr. Bob Frederick received the K Club Lifetime Service Award with his wife, Margaret, accepting on his behalf. Frederick was both a player and a coach at KU, but it was athletic administration where he made his mark. He was the athletic director at Kansas from 1987-2001 and oversaw 32 conference championships won by the Jayhawks, as well as 41 Academic All-Americans. He saw his teams win two Aloha Bowls in football, reach the Final Four three times in men's basketball, including a national title in 1988, as well as appearances in the College World Series in both baseball and softball.

Frederick played basketball at KU in 1960-61 and was an assistant coach for the Jayhawks from 1971-72. He was executive director of the Williams Educational Fund at KU from 1981-85. After resigning as KU athletic director in 2001, Frederick was an assistant professor and lecturer in sports management at KU. Frederick passed away in June 2009.

Frederick's legacy at Kansas Athletics had the next award deem his name as volleyball's Caroline Bien and track and field's Dimitrios Pavlidis were presented with the Robert E. Fredrick Senior Scholars Athlete of The Year Award.

Bien finished her undergraduate career with a 4.0 cumulative grade point average and graduated with a degree in accounting in May 2024. The Overland Park, Kansas, native is currently pursuing a master's degree in accounting.

In 2024, Bien was named AVCA All-Region First Team, All-Big 12 Second Team, Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year and CSC Academic All-District. Bien averaged 3.11 digs per set and 2.56 kills per set during the season, while helping lead Kansas to 15 league wins and a 13th overall trip to the NCAA Tournament. She was one of four Jayhawks to appear in all 108 sets of the regular season.

During her college career, Bien was also recognized for her strong performance in the classroom with the 2023-24 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, as well as being a three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection (2022, 2023, 2024), a seven-time AD Honor Roll recipient and a member of the 2021-22 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team.

A 2024 Academic All-American Second Team selection, Pavlidis who won the 2024 Big 12 Outdoor discus title and placed third in the discus at the 2024 NCAA Championships. He also finished first in two other 2024 outdoor discus meets at the Jim Click Shootout and the Kansas Relays. In 2023 the Greece native was second in the discus at the 2023 Big 12 Outdoor Championships and took 23^rd place in his first NCAA Championship appearance. Earlier in 2023, Pavlidis won the Bobcat Invitational and LSU Invitational.

Bien, football's Jalon Daniels and rowing's Laura Teska were recognized for being named the Big 12 Scholar Athletes of the Year in their respective sports.

Daniels graduated from KU in the fall of 2024 with a bachelor's degree in sport management with a business minor. The Lawndale, California, quarterback was the Big 12 Conference Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year, which was the first time a Kansas player had earned the honor.

Daniels, who was limited to three games by injury during the 2023 season, returned in a big way in 2024. Named a team captain before the season, Daniels started all 12 games for the Jayhawks and completed 171-of-300 (57.0 percent) passes for 2,454 yards and 14 touchdowns. His yardage mark is No. 7 in school history for a single season, while his 14 touchdown passes tied for 10th. Daniels threw for more than 200 yards five times and finished the season as KU's second-leading rusher, running for 447 yards and six touchdowns on 93 carries.

For his career, Daniels has appeared in 37 games for the Jayhawks, and ranks No. 2 in career passing yards (6,751) and touchdown passes (45). He also holds the program's single-game record for passing yards, throwing for 544 in the 2022 AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

In 2024, Teska was the Big 12 Rowing Scholar Athlete of the Year and the Big 12's Dr. Gerald Lage Award recipient. The Dr. Gerald Lage Award is the highest academic honor the conference awards. The Lawrence, Kansas, native also was a two-time College Rowing Coaches Association National Scholar-Athlete in 2023 and 2024 and was a member of the 2021-22 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team. A seven-time Athletics Director Honor Roll honoree, Teska has a 3.99 GPA and will graduate from KU with a bachelor's degree in molecular, cellular and development biology degree and is pre-optometry.

A four-year regular on the team, Teska mainly competes on the Varsity 8 and 2 Varsity 8 boats. She holds the fifth all-time Kansas Rowing 5K ergometer (erg) record and currently ranks seventh all time for the Kansas Rowing 2k erg record. In 2021-22, Teska earned the KU Most Improved Freshman Award.

University of Kansas Athletics

Kansas Athletics Celebrate Graduates in K Ring Ceremony

Players Mentioned

Caroline Bien

Jalon Daniels

Dimitrios Pavlidis

Laura Teska

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