Baylor’s latest academic haul in the Big 12 came with plenty of depth, as 134 student-athletes earned recognition across three conference honor rolls.
The Bears had 21 nominees for the Dr. Gerald Lage Award, 32 student-athletes on the All-Big 12 Academic Rookie Team and 81 on the All-Big 12 Spring Academic Team. Twelve of the spring honorees were nominated with a 4.0 GPA.
The Lage Award nominees included representatives from equestrian, men’s golf, soccer, women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field/cross country, and volleyball. Baylor’s list featured Juliette Earley, Isabelle Hildebrandt, Caroline Muth and Kaitlyn Smith from equestrian; Jonas Appel and Alex Heard from men’s golf; Claire Kniss, Lauren Omholt, Natalie Vatter, Skylar Zinnecker and Ashlee Zirkel from soccer; Arman Zamani from men’s tennis; Na Dong and Lindsay Patton from women’s tennis; Ben Archer, Ethan Wrase, Raynah Cheng, Molly Haywood, Kat Helmer and Alencia Lentz from track and field/cross country; and Victoria Davis from volleyball.
Baylor’s rookie team presence stretched across baseball, men’s basketball, equestrian, golf, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. The 32 honorees were Bo Caraway, Brady Janusek, Cole Lanclos, Cash McDade, Luke McLeod, Dylan Perez and Hunter Snow from baseball; Drew Perry from men’s basketball; Lila Badham from equestrian; Patrick Babb and Tyler Sanford from men’s golf; Paloma Ibarra-Ambia and Obi Chan from women’s golf; Gianna Gusman, Harper Haas, Kaygen Marshall and Ella Brown from softball; Blake Anderson and Drew Hedgecoe from men’s tennis; Luna Ivkovic from women’s tennis; Werner Bezuidenhout, Ewan Curtis, Bailey Hashmi, Caleb McCarver and Dennis Minkah from men’s track and field/cross country; Jenna Flynn, Rachel Haws, Evanna Jacobsen, Alyssa Jones, Success Oyibu and Cymia Yourish from women’s track and field; and Madison Morgan and Ksenia Rakhmanchik from volleyball.
The spring academic team list was the biggest of the three, with Baylor collecting honors in baseball, men’s golf, softball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s track and field. Baseball led the way with Tyce Armstrong, Brayden Bergman, Caleb Bergman, Caleb Bunch, Ethan Calder, Cam Clewett, Brytton Clements, Lucas Davenport, Luke DeVasher, Cade Dodson, Will Glatch, Mason Green, Ty Johnson, JJ Kennett, Jake Kolkhorst, Grayson Murry, Pearson Riebock, RJ Ruais, Travis Sanders, Stefan Stahl, Cade Waibel and John Youens.
Men’s golf honorees were Jonas Appel, Samuel Dossey, Alex Heard, Martin Kemp and Evan Vo. Softball selections included Leah Cran, Karynton Dawson, Abi Flores, Georgia Lindsey, Faith Piper, Savanna Pogue, Sadie Ross, Peyton Tanner, Kaislynn Tovar, Jensen Vienne, Averie Waddell, Lillie Walker and Kaci West.
Men’s tennis honorees were Louis Bowden, Luc Koenig, Connor Van Schalkwyk, Quintan Van Wijk, Zsombor Velcz and Arman Zamani. Women’s tennis honorees were Na Dong, Kennedy Gibbs, Zuzanna Kubacha, Lindsay Patton and Alian Zack.
Baylor also stacked the spring list in track and field. On the men’s side: Sebastian Berntsen, Caden Blitz, Laurenz Colbert, Ricquan Graham, Tyler Honeyman, Wirt Jackson, Nolan Keenan, Brian Limage, Straton Miller, Demario Prince, Aiden Ramshaw, William Sistruck, Aren Spencer, Jackson Sterrett, Kanalu Wong and Ethan Wrase. On the women’s side: Jaemari Allen, Katelyn Andrews, Lucy Benton, Raynah Cheng, Bella Copeland, Sally Corder, Janae De Gannes, Molly Haywood, Kat Helmer, Lillianna Ifft, Nita Koom-Dadzie, Tenly Kuhn, Alencia Lentz, Serafima Lucero, Sameena Mathew, Keidra Mills, Regina Paseiro, Ella Perry, Rosanna Pugh, Allie Scott, Rickeisha Simms, Sydney Smith, Calisha Taylor, Ryan Vasquez and Iyanna Webb.
The 12 Baylor student-athletes nominated with a 4.0 GPA were Caleb Bergman, Jake Kolkhorst, Faith Piper, Peyton Tanner, Luc Koenig, Arman Zamani, Kanalu Wong, Katelyn Andrews, Raynah Cheng, Bella Copeland, Tenly Kuhn and Ella Perry.
In Other News...
Baylor Is Suddenly Back In A Familiar Portal Backcourt Debate
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For Baylor, the appeal is pretty easy to see. The Bears are among the schools reportedly monitoring him, along with Texas Tech, Providence and Pittsburgh, and the fit would come down to how the staff wants to shape the backcourt around its current pieces. If Baylor wants more flexibility and insurance behind its primary guards, Petrovic could slide into a useful role, but he is not the kind of addition that settles the bigger roster questions by himself. [Read more 🡒]
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Former Baylor Linebacker Is Coming Home For A Bigger Game Day Role
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Gandy said the opportunity felt like coming home, and it marks another turn in a Baylor story that has already included a playing career, a post-football return to finish his degree and a second life in media. What makes this one notable is how it came together: Morris reached out personally, and Gandy is stepping into a role that should put him front and center for a program he has already spent decades around in one form or another. [Read more 🡒]