The Kevin O’Keefe scholarship is designed to help young Aboriginal students with their tertiary studies whilst being actively involved in the UWA Cricket Club.

The scholarship acknowledges the legacy of UWA Alumni Kevin O’Keefe. A Yued Noongar man, O’Keefe is acknowledged as UWA’s first Aboriginal graduate after finishing his education degree in 1969. O’Keefe played for the UWA Cricket Club in the 1960s, winning the Le Couteur Medal as club champion in 1968-1969 whilst studying at UWA.

The inaugural recipient, UWA Cricket Club Assistant Coach Alex Stewart has propelled to new heights through the support of the scholarship. Stewart was pivotal in the coaching team behind UWA Cricket Club’s impressive 2024/2025 season with a premiership title.    Stewart has utilised the scholarship to strengthen his abilities, undertaking a new role as a skills coach with the WA Aboriginal Talent Academy.

Through his involvement, Stewart was appointed as Head Coach of the Western Australia Indigenous Women’s Team for the National Indigenous Cricket Championships in Mackay, Queensland. The team was successful in claiming its first ever national title after a decade of competing at the event.  A historic moment for Stewart saw him get accepted into the 2025 Cricket Australia level 3 coaching qualification cohort. Stewart attended the week-long course at the Cricket Australia National Performance and is expected to complete the qualification in November.

Recently, Stewart was appointed the Head Coach of the Australian Women’s Indigenous Cricket Team that departed on a tour to Papua New Guinea in June. The ten-day tour will involve a T20 format competition featuring Australia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Vanuatu.

Stewart is a member of the Turbunna clan of the Palawa people of Ben Lomond in Tasmania and hopes to set an example for young players to follow. Stewart has played cricket at Premier League clubs in Tasmania, New South Wales and Western Australia.