MEDFORD, MA (March 12, 2026) - Tufts University senior
Caroline Kelly, a women's soccer All-American with a 4.0 grade point average, has been selected as a recipient of an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
The NCAA awarded $10,000 postgraduate scholarships to 42 exceptional student-athletes as part of the 2025-26 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship program. These student-athletes, representing fall sports across all three NCAA divisions, have demonstrated outstanding academic achievements, athletic excellence and leadership within their communities. Kelly is one of just 21 female student-athletes nationally who competed at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels to receive the award for fall sports.
Kelly will graduate from Tufts in May with a degree in biomedical engineering. She will be continuing her education at Tufts, pursuing a Master's degree in biomedical engineering through the +1 BS/MS program. The NCAA scholarship will go towards her graduate school tuition.
"I am grateful and honored to receive the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship," Kelly said. "Playing soccer while studying biomedical engineering at Tufts has been a defining part of my experience, and it's taught me a lot about balancing athletics with challenging academics. I am thankful for the support of my teammates, coaches, and professors, and for the opportunities Tufts has given me to grow both on the field and in the classroom."
On the field, Kelly was a three-year starter in the midfield who helped head coach
Martha Whiting's Tufts team advance to two NCAA Tournament "Final Fours" during her career (2023 and 2025). Kelly was a United Soccer Coaches All-American in 2024, a two-time NESCAC All-Conference selection (2024 and 2025) and a first team All-Region honoree twice (2024 and 2025). She scored 13 goals with 21 assists for 47 points in 64 career games. Her 21 assists are third all-time at Tufts. An injury in her senior season limited Kelly to 13 games, but she helped put the Jumbos on a path to winning their first NESCAC Championship since 2002.
"Caroline is, quite simply, the most skillful college player I have ever coached," said Whiting, who is in her 27th season at Tufts. "This is no exaggeration. It is the result of my daily observation of her discipline, preparation, and relentless pursuit of excellence. She is an equally outstanding person. She puts the needs of the team before her own, treats everyone with respect, and carries herself with humility and integrity.
"What makes Caroline truly exceptional is that her athletic dedication is matched, and perhaps exceeded, by her academic achievement," Whiting continued. "She embodies everything we hope for in a student-athlete: academic excellence, competitive greatness, leadership, resilience, and strength of character."
From Southborough, Massachusetts, Kelly has earned straight A's within Tufts' challenging biomedical engineering curriculum. She is a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honors Society and the Biomedical Engineering Society. During her time at Tufts, she has worked as a Harvard-MIT Summer Institute Intern for the Tearney Lab at Wellman Center for Photomedicine, was an Undergraduate Research Assistant for the Kaplan Lab Neuro Group at Tufts and was a Manufacturing and R&D Engineering Intern at Epicore Biosystems in Cambridge, Mass.
Kelly is a three-time NESCAC All-Academic Team member (3.50 GPA+), as well as a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American and an Academic All-District® honoree (selected by College Sports Communicators). Her community service includes work with Morgan's Message, which strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community.
While at Tufts pursuing her Master's degree, Kelly plans to remain with the team as an assistant coach.
--JUMBOS--
