Malabuyo, Rice Named Finalists for 2025 Arthur Ashe Award
April 24, 2025 | Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Bruin Athletics
FAIRFAX, Va. โ Senior gymnast Emma Malabuyo and junior point guard Kiki Rice have been named two of the four finalists for the 2025 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Female Athlete of the Year award, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine announced. The duo of Bruins are also their respective gymnastics and women's basketball sport winners.
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Each year, the honor recognizes outstanding, young minority men and women who have distinguished themselves in their academic and athletic pursuits. Students named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars must maintain at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average, be at least a sophomore academically, and be active on their campuses or in their communities. The winner of the prestigious award will be announced on June 5.
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Malabuyo was the NCAA balance beam runner-up in 2025 and helped lead the Bruins to a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships and to the Big Ten regular season and Championship titles. A first-team All-Big Ten selection and AAI Award nominee, Malabuyo had a team-high five event victories on the balance beam and 12 Top 2 finishes this season. One of the best beam workers in the NCAA, she ranked in the Top 10 all season long, averaging 9.912. The 2024 Philippines Olympian and three-time All-American averaged 9.872 on beam in her career and totaled 13 scores of 9.950 or better, including one 10.0 and six 9.975s. Malabuyo made history at the 2024 Asian Championships, winning the first gold medal in Philippines women's gymnastics history, on the floor exercise. She also won the all-around bronze medal and was the floor exercise silver medalist in 2023. The Milpitas, Calif., native was UCLA's honoree for the 2025 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award and was included on the Winter Academic All-Big Ten team, her third conference academic honor of her career. Malabuyo was a 2023 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar and a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree (2023, 2024).
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The gymnast has also started her own program in the Philippines that included instruction in a free coaching clinic for coaches and coaching younger Filipina gymnasts. She participated in a speaking engagement at Google for Filipino Heritage Month and was a student-athlete representative for UCLA's Pac-12 to Big Ten transition committee, lending her voice in weekly meetings over four months to ensure proper resources and support for student-athletes. Malabuyo also volunteered as a guest speaker at the Confident Gymnast Summit Clinic, helping young athletes overcome challenges and obstacles, and was recently a speaker for the Child Mind Institute's Prioritizing Mental Health and Fitness panel. Locally, she volunteered with Nourish LA to distribute food to community members in need.
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Rice helped UCLA to new program records in best start to a season (23-0), consecutive wins (23) and consecutive wins by double digits (22). The point guard finished her junior campaign with single-season career-best shooting splits in field goal percentage (.485) and 3-point percentage (.365) as the Bruins' second-leading scorer (12.8 PPG). Rice led the Bruins in assists on the year, dishing a career-best 170 dimes in 34 appearances; the Bethesda, Md., native has had 100 or more assists in each of her three seasons at UCLA. She was an All-Big Ten first team selection, an Associated Press (AP) All-America honorable mention and a College Sports Communicators Academic All-America first team member. Rice helped the program reach new heights as UCLA achieved its first-ever No. 1 ranking in the AP poll. UCLA sat atop the rankings for 12-consecutive weeks, setting a new Big Ten record after nine weeks in the No. 1 spot. Rice and the Bruins made their first-ever NCAA Women's Final Four appearance after defeating No. 3-seed LSU in a rematch from the 2024 Sweet Sixteen.
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The junior point guard is an active member of the Los Angeles community, making regular visits to the Dream Center, which provides support to those affected by homelessness, hunger and lack of education through residential and community outreach programs. Rice and the women's basketball Bruins also volunteer at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, often leading creative and meaningful sessions designed around interests and abilities of patients. On a monthly basis, Rice and her teammates help sort plastic bottles, cans and glass collected across campus before they are transported to local recycling center; funds go directly toward sponsors from Salvation Army, Team Impact and families living at Dream Center.
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Chase Griffin of UCLA football was the most recent Bruin to be named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar finalist, a sport winner and was the overall runner-up in 2024; Griffin is a two-time finalist and four-time sports scholar honoree.
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Each year, the honor recognizes outstanding, young minority men and women who have distinguished themselves in their academic and athletic pursuits. Students named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars must maintain at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average, be at least a sophomore academically, and be active on their campuses or in their communities. The winner of the prestigious award will be announced on June 5.
ย
Malabuyo was the NCAA balance beam runner-up in 2025 and helped lead the Bruins to a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships and to the Big Ten regular season and Championship titles. A first-team All-Big Ten selection and AAI Award nominee, Malabuyo had a team-high five event victories on the balance beam and 12 Top 2 finishes this season. One of the best beam workers in the NCAA, she ranked in the Top 10 all season long, averaging 9.912. The 2024 Philippines Olympian and three-time All-American averaged 9.872 on beam in her career and totaled 13 scores of 9.950 or better, including one 10.0 and six 9.975s. Malabuyo made history at the 2024 Asian Championships, winning the first gold medal in Philippines women's gymnastics history, on the floor exercise. She also won the all-around bronze medal and was the floor exercise silver medalist in 2023. The Milpitas, Calif., native was UCLA's honoree for the 2025 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award and was included on the Winter Academic All-Big Ten team, her third conference academic honor of her career. Malabuyo was a 2023 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar and a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree (2023, 2024).
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The gymnast has also started her own program in the Philippines that included instruction in a free coaching clinic for coaches and coaching younger Filipina gymnasts. She participated in a speaking engagement at Google for Filipino Heritage Month and was a student-athlete representative for UCLA's Pac-12 to Big Ten transition committee, lending her voice in weekly meetings over four months to ensure proper resources and support for student-athletes. Malabuyo also volunteered as a guest speaker at the Confident Gymnast Summit Clinic, helping young athletes overcome challenges and obstacles, and was recently a speaker for the Child Mind Institute's Prioritizing Mental Health and Fitness panel. Locally, she volunteered with Nourish LA to distribute food to community members in need.
ย
Rice helped UCLA to new program records in best start to a season (23-0), consecutive wins (23) and consecutive wins by double digits (22). The point guard finished her junior campaign with single-season career-best shooting splits in field goal percentage (.485) and 3-point percentage (.365) as the Bruins' second-leading scorer (12.8 PPG). Rice led the Bruins in assists on the year, dishing a career-best 170 dimes in 34 appearances; the Bethesda, Md., native has had 100 or more assists in each of her three seasons at UCLA. She was an All-Big Ten first team selection, an Associated Press (AP) All-America honorable mention and a College Sports Communicators Academic All-America first team member. Rice helped the program reach new heights as UCLA achieved its first-ever No. 1 ranking in the AP poll. UCLA sat atop the rankings for 12-consecutive weeks, setting a new Big Ten record after nine weeks in the No. 1 spot. Rice and the Bruins made their first-ever NCAA Women's Final Four appearance after defeating No. 3-seed LSU in a rematch from the 2024 Sweet Sixteen.
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The junior point guard is an active member of the Los Angeles community, making regular visits to the Dream Center, which provides support to those affected by homelessness, hunger and lack of education through residential and community outreach programs. Rice and the women's basketball Bruins also volunteer at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, often leading creative and meaningful sessions designed around interests and abilities of patients. On a monthly basis, Rice and her teammates help sort plastic bottles, cans and glass collected across campus before they are transported to local recycling center; funds go directly toward sponsors from Salvation Army, Team Impact and families living at Dream Center.
ย
Chase Griffin of UCLA football was the most recent Bruin to be named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar finalist, a sport winner and was the overall runner-up in 2024; Griffin is a two-time finalist and four-time sports scholar honoree.
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Players Mentioned
/ Gymnastics
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