Central AAU Scholarship Winners 2026: 10 Student-Athletes Get $10,000 Each

The Central AAU District of the Amateur Athletic Union has named 10 student-athletes as winners of its 2026 Central AAU Scholarship Program. Each receives $10,000, paid straight to the winner’s college or university. AAU published the list on 28 July 2026, and the winners compete in diving, track and field, volleyball, taekwondo, karate and gymnastics.

AAU also said that from 2027 the award will carry the name of Sheldon Staubitz, a long-serving Central AAU and National AAU volunteer. Details of the 2027 Central AAU scholarship have not been released yet. Below are the 2026 winners, what they achieved, how the award works, and how to prepare if you want to be on next year’s list.

Central AAU scholarship winners 2026: the full list

Winner	Sport	Hometown	College	Planned major
Nicole Kuchyt	Diving	Lockport, IL	University of Illinois Chicago	Special education
Nate Jackson	Diving	Frankfort, IL	University of Pennsylvania	Economics
Shaniyah Rutledge	Track and field	Chicago, IL	Tennessee State University	Criminal justice
Addison Kessler	Volleyball	Cary, IL	University of Wisconsin-Stout	Early childhood education
Yuriy Rogachev	Taekwondo	Oak Park, IL	University of Wisconsin-Madison	Applied mathematics
Abriana Bruns	Volleyball	Johnsburg, IL	Monmouth College	Chemistry and education
Gabriel Moy	Karate	Chicago, IL	Undecided	Business
Lilyana Prentiss	Gymnastics	Mendota, IL	North Central College	Exercise science
Logan McCabe	Track and field	Pontiac, IL	North Central College	Electrical engineering
Kaleigh Bell	Track and field	Urbana, IL	Davenport University (Michigan)	Medical biology science

All ten winners are from Illinois. Track and field has three winners, diving and volleyball two each, and taekwondo, karate and gymnastics one each. Six of the nine winners who named a college are going to Illinois or neighbouring Wisconsin, but the award is not tied to a particular state’s colleges: one winner heads to Pennsylvania, one to Tennessee and one to Michigan.

What each winner brought to the application

Nicole Kuchyt, diving

She earned a scholarship to dive at Division 1 level, was high school dive team captain and MVP for four years, qualified for the state meet three years running, and made the high honor roll every year. She started in AAU Gymnastics before moving to AAU Diving.

Nate Jackson, diving

A six-time AAU Diving All-American with IHSA All-State and NISCA All-American honours. Academically he made the high honor roll, was an AP Scholar with Distinction, and received the National Hispanic Recognition and National Top School recognition awards. He is a member of Future Business Leaders of America and Future Lawyers of America.

Shaniyah Rutledge, track and field

She has a track scholarship at Tennessee State, made the honor roll, cheered as well, and has volunteered with Delta Sigma Theta and Feed the Hopeless. She has been in AAU Track and Field since 2023.

Addison Kessler, volleyball

A Northwest Herald All-Area Honorable Mention with five years in AAU Volleyball. She volunteers as a coach with Balance Buddies Volleyball Club, coaching a 12U team, and helps deliver holiday gifts to families in need.

Yuriy Rogachev, taekwondo

He won Olympic Sparring at the 2022 AAU Taekwondo National Team Trials and took first place at the 2023 AAU Junior Olympic Games. He made the high honor roll, received an ISAC state award, was an AP Scholar with Honor, and holds the Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy. He volunteers at food pantries and accompanies church services.

Abriana Bruns, volleyball

Ranked first in her class, AP Scholar with Distinction, National Honor Society president and four-year academic All-State in volleyball, with a 2024 AVCA Team Academic Award. She played at AAU Volleyball Nationals for four seasons and holds two Monmouth College scholarships, including the Richard “Doc” Kieft Scholarship for Chemistry.

Gabriel Moy, karate

A third-degree black belt and AP Scholar with Distinction, with College Board National Recognition, Illinois State Scholar status, and membership of the National Honor Society and National Chinese Honor Society. His community work includes the literacy group Boys with Books and several Chicago community organisations, among them Chicago Chinatown Special Events and the Midwest Asian Health Association.

Lilyana Prentiss, gymnastics

A multi-sport athlete in track, cheer and gymnastics, she won several all-around titles, including 2025 Midwest Regional Champion. She made the honor roll all four years, led fundraisers and volunteers with a children’s cheer clinic. She plans to go on to a doctorate in physical therapy.

Logan McCabe, track and field

He competed at the AAU Junior Olympic Games in cup stacking (2018 and 2022) and pole vault (2024 and 2025, placing ninth in 2025). He is in the National Honor Society and National Technical Honor Society, won Digital Media awards in 2025 and 2026, and works on the school newspaper and yearbook.

Kaleigh Bell, track and field

A 2025 AAU Junior Olympic qualifier and girls’ varsity track MVP, with academic achievement and art awards. She holds achievement and athletic scholarships at Davenport University, sings in a community choir, and works as a camp counsellor and peer leader.

What the 2026 list shows about the Central AAU scholarship

AAU’s announcement does not publish a scoring rubric, but the profiles follow a clear pattern. Most winners show three things on the record:

• sustained AAU involvement, often several years, with results at AAU national events such as the Junior Olympic Games
• strong grades, shown by honor roll, AP Scholar awards or honour society membership
• regular volunteer or school service work, from food pantries to coaching younger athletes

Sport results do not seem to be the deciding factor on their own. Several winners have no national title listed, but they paired steady AAU participation with grades and service. Logan McCabe is a good example: his best Junior Olympic result was ninth place, yet his honour societies, media awards and school work carried the profile. If you plan to apply in 2027, start keeping a record of your AAU events, academic awards and volunteer hours now.

How the Central AAU scholarship works

The Amateur Athletic Union is a US multi-sport organisation that runs youth competitions through regional districts. The Central AAU scholarship is run at district level, separate from AAU’s national scholarship. Here is what AAU has made public about it and what it has not.

Question	What AAU has published
Award per winner	$10,000
Number of winners in 2026	10, so $100,000 in total
How it is paid	Directly to the winner’s college or university, not to the student
Who won	AAU athletes from Illinois entering college, across six sports
Name from 2027	Will honour Sheldon Staubitz, a longtime Central AAU and National AAU volunteer
Eligibility rules	Not published
Application form and deadline	Not published for 2026 or 2027
Essay prompt or references	Not published
Renewable	Not stated; the announcement describes it as a single award

Because the rules are not public, I would treat anything a third-party site says about GPA minimums, deadlines or study levels with caution. One widely shared listing said the award covers undergraduate, master’s and PhD study. Every 2026 winner is a student entering college, and AAU says nothing about graduate study.

Central AAU scholarship and the AAU National Scholarship

Students often mix the two up. AAU runs a separate national award, and in 2026 it looked very similar in size.

Detail	Central AAU scholarship	AAU National Scholarship
Run by	Central AAU District	AAU Scholarship Committee
2026 winners	10	10 (five female, five male)
Amount	$10,000 each	$10,000 each
Paid to	The winner’s college	The winner’s college
2026 winners announced	28 July 2026	7 July 2026
Who can win	AAU athletes in the Central District (all 2026 winners from Illinois)	AAU athletes nationwide
Application	Not published	Online form on AAU’s registration site; closed for 2025-26

If you are an AAU athlete in the Central District, nothing AAU has published stops you from applying for both. Check each form when it opens, since either could add a rule against holding both awards.

How to prepare for the 2027 Sheldon Staubitz award

You cannot apply yet, but most of what won in 2026 took years to build. These steps follow directly from the winners’ profiles.

1. Keep your AAU membership current: every 2026 winner competed in AAU programmes, some for five years or more. A lapsed membership in your final year is an easy way to weaken your case.
2. Enter AAU events, not only school meets: Junior Olympic Games, national championships and AAU trials appear again and again in the winners’ records.
3. Protect your grades: honor roll, AP Scholar awards and National Honor Society membership show up in almost every profile.
4. Log your service: write down dates, hours and what you did. Coaching younger athletes counts, as Addison Kessler’s profile shows.
5. Collect evidence: keep results sheets, certificates and award letters in one folder so you can upload them quickly.
6. Line up two adults who know you: a coach and a teacher are the obvious pair. AAU has not said whether references are required, but having them ready costs nothing.
7. Watch AAU’s news page: the 2027 details will be posted on aausports.org. Check it monthly from early 2027.

Writing your scholarship essay

AAU has not released an essay prompt for this award. Most sports scholarship forms ask some version of “tell us about yourself as an athlete, student and member of your community”, so prepare a 400 to 500 word draft you can adapt. A simple structure works:

1. One specific moment from your sport: a meet, a loss, a skill you struggled with.
2. What it taught you: connect it to how you study or work.
3. How you give back: one service activity, with numbers if you have them.
4. Your college plan: the major and why, in two or three sentences.

An example opening, my own illustration: “At my first AAU Junior Olympics I finished last in my heat, and I spent the bus ride home writing down every mistake. That notebook is now three years old, and I use the same habit for chemistry.” It is concrete, it shows growth, and it links sport to study in two sentences.

Common mistakes applicants make with athletic scholarships

• Listing sport results only, with nothing on grades or service. The 2026 winners show balance matters.
• Trusting deadlines from aggregator sites before AAU publishes its own.
• Paying anyone to apply. AAU’s announcement mentions no application fee, and you should never pay a third party to apply for you.
• Writing a generic essay that could be about any sport and any student.
• Forgetting to tell your college’s financial aid office about the award once you win.

What happens after you win

AAU announces winners publicly, as it did on 28 July 2026, and pays the $10,000 to the college. In the US, outside scholarships like this must be reported to your college’s financial aid office. The college then adjusts your aid package, and in some cases it reduces need-based grants or loans rather than lowering what you pay. Ask the aid office how it treats outside awards before you assume the full $10,000 comes off your bill.

The award also does not cover everything. On a typical US college budget, $10,000 will not stretch to full tuition, housing, meals, books, travel and sports equipment. Most 2026 winners hold other scholarships alongside it, including athletic awards from their colleges.

Similar US scholarships for high school seniors

Scholarship	Who it is for	Amount	Deadline
Central AAU (Sheldon Staubitz) scholarship	AAU athletes in the Central District entering college	$10,000	Not yet published by AAU
NSHSS scholarships	High school and college students, many awards for NSHSS members, including an athlete award	Mostly $500 to $5,000	Varies by award
Beat the Odds Scholarship	Oregon public high school seniors who have faced serious hardship	$20,000 over four years	15 September 2027
Whetstone Scholarship	Seniors from Appalachian Ohio and Geauga County going into medicine, health or the arts	Not published	30 April 2027

Who should apply, and who should not

Apply in 2027 if you are a high school senior who competes in AAU in the Central District, with a solid academic record and some community service. Multi-sport athletes and those in smaller sports such as karate, taekwondo or diving did well in 2026, so do not assume the award favours big team sports.

Do not spend time on it if you have never competed in AAU events, live outside the district, or are already in graduate school. International students abroad are very unlikely to qualify, as explained below.

Can international students apply?

This is a district award for young athletes in the AAU system, and all 2026 winners come from Illinois and are heading to US colleges. AAU has not published a nationality rule for it. In practice, it suits international students only if they already live in the district and compete in AAU events. If you are applying from abroad, broader options such as the awards in our guide to the best American scholarships for international students are a better fit.

FAQs

How much is the Central AAU scholarship?

Each of the ten 2026 winners received $10,000, paid directly to their college or university.

Who won the 2026 Central AAU scholarships?

Nicole Kuchyt, Nate Jackson, Shaniyah Rutledge, Addison Kessler, Yuriy Rogachev, Abriana Bruns, Gabriel Moy, Lilyana Prentiss, Logan McCabe and Kaleigh Bell.

What will the Central AAU scholarship be called in 2027?

AAU says it will be renamed in honour of Sheldon Staubitz, a longtime Central AAU and National AAU volunteer.

How do I apply for the 2027 Central AAU scholarship?

AAU has not opened the 2027 round or published a deadline; it says details will follow in the coming months on aausports.org. Keep your AAU membership active and have your results, grades and service record ready.

Sources and updates

The winners, sports, hometowns, colleges, majors, achievements, award amount and the 2027 renaming all come from the Amateur Athletic Union’s announcement “26-Central Scholarships Winners”, published on 28 July 2026. The AAU National Scholarship details (10 winners, $10,000 each, announced 7 July 2026) come from SwimSwam’s report of AAU’s announcement, and the closed 2025-26 form from AAU’s scholarship registration page. The note on reporting outside scholarships reflects standard US college financial aid practice. The preparation steps and essay advice are my own, based on the winners’ profiles. Checked on 24 October 2026; AAU had not published 2027 application details on that date. I will add them when AAU releases them.