DALLAS – Conference USA honored 10 student-athletes with the Jim Casteñeda Postgraduate Scholarship on Thursday, including Jax State Softball's Hannah Buffington. This marks the 17^th year the award has been named after Dr. Jim Castañeda, who served Rice for 46 years as an educator, coach and Faculty Athletics Representative before he passed in 2008. Every season, CUSA grants a $4,000 scholarship to distinguished graduates selected by the league's Faculty Athletics Representatives and approved by the Conference USA Board of Directors.
 
Buffington is a four-year member of the Gamecock softball program with 142 career appearances and 95 starts as a utility player. She boasts a perfect 4.0 GPA in pursuit of an MBA, which she is expected to earn at the end of summer.
 
She is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, which recognized the top six percent of her business class. Buffington's other academic honors include a CUSA Commissioner's Academic Medal and a CUSA Spring Spirit of Service Award in 2024. She also served as president of Jax State's Student Athlete-Advisory Committee.
 
2025 Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients
Mathys Lefebvre, FIU, Men's Soccer
Hannah Buffington, Jax State, Softball
Tianna Rivera, Kennesaw State, Women's Soccer
Taiva Reinertson, Liberty, Women's Lacrosse
Autumn Smith, LA Tech, Women's Basketball
Kendall Maynard, MTSU, Women's Golf
Elizabeth Cervantes-Vanderlugt, NM State, Swimming
Jaylen Phillips, Sam Houston, Football
Ema Uskokovic, UTEP, Volleyball/Beach Volleyball
Brooke Sleeva, WKU, Women's Soccer