ANNAPOLIS, Md. â€"â€" Navy women's swimmer Ellen Bradford (Sr., Knoxville, Tenn.) was one of 58 recipients across all NCAA divisions to be awarded an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship on Monday. She joins wrestler Michael Woulfe and men's cross country team member Sam Peckham as Mids who have garnered the scholarship during the 2015-16 academic year.

The NCAA awards up to 174 postgraduate scholarships annually. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are at least in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition.

The one-time non-renewable scholarships of $7,500 are awarded three times a year corresponding to each sport season (fall, winter and spring). Each sports season there are 29 scholarships available for men and 29 scholarships available for women for use in an accredited graduate program.

Bradford closed her academic career at the U.S. Naval Academy atop her class on the Academic Order of Merit with a 4.00 cumulative grade-point average. An honors systems engineering major, she plans to pursue a graduate degree in engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey, Calif., prior to beginning her service assignment as a nuclear submarine officer.

One of just three Mids in Navy's quarter century membership in the Patriot League to be tabbed as the league's scholar-athlete of the year for a sport three times in a career, Bradford earned third-team Academic All-America honors in 2014 and first-team accolades in 2015. She is on the national ballot for 2016 Academic All-America honors by virtue of her receiving first-team all-district laurels last week.

Bradford has been equally successful in the pool. She earned First-Team All-Patriot League honors in each of her four seasons to help the Mids win four league team titles. Bradford advanced to the championship final in each of her 12 individual events at the league championship over the course of her career. She won a pair of event titles, placed second five more times and totaled nine top-four placings.

Additionally, Bradford has qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the 100 breaststroke event.

Bradford joins Kelly Zahalka (Class of 2009) and Laura Gorinski (2013) as Navy women's swimmers who have received an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship.