Former Washington State Linebacker Kyle Thornton Receives Honor From Pac-12

Former Washington State Cougars linebacker Kyle Thornton was awarded the Pac-12 Conference Tom Hansen Medal earlier this week.

The league annually awards a conference medal to one male athlete and one female athlete from each member institution each academic year that exhibit "the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership." The award is named for former Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen. Cougs volleyball player Katy Ryan was also a recipient of the award this year, a fantastic athlete in her own right.

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In his time with the Cougars, Thornton was named a team captain as a senior in 2024, his sixth and final campaign with WSU. He finished his career with 213 tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, and an interception. In his junior season, he led the team in tackles. As a senior, he was second on the team in tackles. The former walk-on was also heralded for his academic abilities, earning the Pac-12 Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in 2024 and getting his name on the Pac-12 Conference Academic Honor Roll five times. He was also honored by College Sports Communicators as a First-Team All-District selection. He graduated from WSU with a degree in economics and is close to completing his Master's in Business Administration.

Thornton, an Upland, California native, may well be best remembered by Cougs fans for years to come for his fourth-down stop against Washington last season that sealed Apple Cup victory at Seattle's Lumen Field.

Since his playing career with the Cougs ended, Thornton has joined former WSU head coach Jake Dickert's staff at Wake Forest University as a Defensive Quality Control staff member. He is currently listed as the Demon Deacons Assistant Defensive Line Coach.