Gillespie and Davis Named Big 12 2020 Winter Scholar-Athletes of the Year
4/21/2020 10:09:00 AM | Equestrian, General, Men's Basketball, Student-Athlete Center for Excellence
WACO, Texas– Two Bears were named Big 12 Conference 2020 Winter Scholar-Athletes of the Year, announced Tuesday morning by the conference office after a vote of each sport's respective head coaches. Senior Freddie Gillespie earned the honor for men's basketball, while junior Rachael Davis took home the title for equestrian.
A former walk-on transfer from Division III Carleton College, Gillespie went on to earn 2020 All-Big 12 second team honors and was named the 2020 Big 12 Most Improved Player. He led the Bears to a 26-4 record, including five weeks ranked as the nation's No. 1 team, the longest streak by any program since 2015. Gillespie was also named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team, the Academic All-Big 12 first team and was a CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 honoree. He graduated in August 2019 with a political science degree. He's the first Baylor men's basketball player to earn Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
An NCEA First Team All-American and the Big 12 Flat Rider of the Year, Davis went an impressive 11-2 in the flat and 5-5-1 in fences for a 16-7-1 overall record on the 2019-20 season. A four-time Most Outstanding Performer for the Bears, she was also named to the Farnam NCEA All-Academic First Team and Academic All-Big 12 First Team. She is the second Baylor equestrian rider to win the award, following Rachel Van Allen in 2018.
The Big 12 Conference established its Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in 2012-13. A recipient is named in each conference-sponsored sport. Every Big 12 institution or affiliate nominates one individual per sport with the winners selected by a vote of the league head coaches for the sport, who are not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes. Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominees must be a junior or senior (athletic and academic standing), have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher, participate in at least 20 percent of the team's scheduled contests and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution.
Baylor's Big 12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Baseball – Kyle Hill, Richard Cunningham, Logan Brown, Doug Ashby
Equestrian – Rachel Van Allen, Rachael Davis
Football – Nick Florence
Men's Basketball – Freddie Gillespie
Men's Golf – Colin Kober, Matthew Perrine
Men's Tennis – Jimmy Bendeck, Patrick Pradella
Men's XC – Jonathan Tijerina, Blake Niccum
Soccer – Precious Akanyirige, Dana Larsen
Softball – Heather Stearns, Kathy Shelton
Volleyball – Shelly (Fanning) Stafford (twice)
Women's Golf – Laura Lonardi
Women's Tennis – Blair Shankle
Women's XC – Lindsey Bradley
Big 12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year by School
Iowa State-25
Baylor-23
West Virginia-23
Kansas State-19
Oklahoma State-18
Kansas-16
Oklahoma-14
TCU-14
Texas Tech-8
Texas-7
Denver-2
North Dakota State-1
Northern Colorado-1
A former walk-on transfer from Division III Carleton College, Gillespie went on to earn 2020 All-Big 12 second team honors and was named the 2020 Big 12 Most Improved Player. He led the Bears to a 26-4 record, including five weeks ranked as the nation's No. 1 team, the longest streak by any program since 2015. Gillespie was also named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team, the Academic All-Big 12 first team and was a CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 honoree. He graduated in August 2019 with a political science degree. He's the first Baylor men's basketball player to earn Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
An NCEA First Team All-American and the Big 12 Flat Rider of the Year, Davis went an impressive 11-2 in the flat and 5-5-1 in fences for a 16-7-1 overall record on the 2019-20 season. A four-time Most Outstanding Performer for the Bears, she was also named to the Farnam NCEA All-Academic First Team and Academic All-Big 12 First Team. She is the second Baylor equestrian rider to win the award, following Rachel Van Allen in 2018.
The Big 12 Conference established its Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in 2012-13. A recipient is named in each conference-sponsored sport. Every Big 12 institution or affiliate nominates one individual per sport with the winners selected by a vote of the league head coaches for the sport, who are not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes. Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominees must be a junior or senior (athletic and academic standing), have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher, participate in at least 20 percent of the team's scheduled contests and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution.
Baylor's Big 12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Baseball – Kyle Hill, Richard Cunningham, Logan Brown, Doug Ashby
Equestrian – Rachel Van Allen, Rachael Davis
Football – Nick Florence
Men's Basketball – Freddie Gillespie
Men's Golf – Colin Kober, Matthew Perrine
Men's Tennis – Jimmy Bendeck, Patrick Pradella
Men's XC – Jonathan Tijerina, Blake Niccum
Soccer – Precious Akanyirige, Dana Larsen
Softball – Heather Stearns, Kathy Shelton
Volleyball – Shelly (Fanning) Stafford (twice)
Women's Golf – Laura Lonardi
Women's Tennis – Blair Shankle
Women's XC – Lindsey Bradley
Big 12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year by School
Iowa State-25
Baylor-23
West Virginia-23
Kansas State-19
Oklahoma State-18
Kansas-16
Oklahoma-14
TCU-14
Texas Tech-8
Texas-7
Denver-2
North Dakota State-1
Northern Colorado-1
Players Mentioned
JS
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