SACE April Champions of the Month
4/19/2023 10:02:00 AM | Student-Athlete Center for Excellence, Champions of the Month
Student-Athletes from Football, Softball and A&T selected as April Champions of the Month
WACO, Texas – Kyler Jordan (football), George Maile (football), Shaylon Govan (softball) and Kamryn Kitchens (acrobatics & tumbling) have been selected as the Student-Athlete Center for Excellence (SACE) April Champions of the Month.
This award recognizes student-athletes who achieve their personal bests in the areas of academic achievement, athletic success, character formation and spiritual growth.
Each of these student-athletes was nominated by a SACE team member based upon their embodiment of each of the four pillars.
A freshman from Lubbock, Texas, Jordan is a pre-business major who earned a 4.0 in his first semester at Baylor and is on pace for another 4.0 in the spring. "Kyler works hard every day, never complains and always has a smile on his face," said Emily DeRatt, Assistant AD for Academic Services. "Kyler also places his spiritual growth as a top priority and is active in opportunities given to him by our Sports Ministry unit."
After earning all-state honors in football and baseball at Cooper High School, Kyler played in three games in his first season with the Bears and has worked his way up the depth chart this spring at the Jack outside linebacker spot. "I am so blessed that Baylor is giving me the opportunity to play the sport that I love while being educated from one of the top universities in the nation," Kyler said. "It doesn't get much better than that."
Maile, a sophomore from South Jordan, Utah, majoring in corporate communications, "brightens up every room he enters with his contagious smile and cheerful personality," said Molly Ann Walke, associate director of learning support. "His professors often remark on his active participation in class, and his tutors report the same in their sessions. At the leadership retreat, his perspective was a valuable contribution to the group throughout the weekend."
Ranked as the No. 7 offensive guard in the country by ESPN coming out of high school, Maile was selected to participate in the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame's Polynesian Bowl in January 2022. "Being a Baylor student-athlete takes a lot. There's a standard we have to uphold and expectations we need to meet," he said. "I'm honored to be at Baylor University and wouldn't want it any other way. It's a blessing."
On track to earn her personal-best GPA and make the dean's list during the in-season spring semester, Govan is a junior from Katy, Texas, who transferred to Baylor after three years at SFA. "Shay has done an amazing job balancing her second semester here at Baylor," said Quentin Hendershot, associate director of academic services. "In addition, Shay has played a key part in the success that the softball team has experienced this season."
One of the top hitters in the Big 12, Govan is batting .394 with a team-high nine home runs and 43 RBIs for a 34-10 Baylor softball team that is 15thin the latest NCAA RPI rankings. "Being a student-athlete here at Baylor allows me to compete at a high level on the field and in the classroom," she said.
Kitchens, already accepted to medical school for neuroscience at South Alabama University, "has done a fantastic job on staying on top of her academics this semester," Hendershot said. A winner of the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award last year, the senior from Kennesaw, Ga., is on pace to make the Dean's list for the eighth time.
On the mat, she has been a part of two national championship teams, won three-consecutive NCATA Athlete of the Week honors this season, four overall, and earned a perfect 10 on her six-element tumbling pass against Quinnipiac. "Baylor has provided me with countless resources throughout my academic journey," she said. "I have been surrounded by people that have pushed me to be the best student possible. Now as a graduating senior, I feel equipped for my next steps."
This award recognizes student-athletes who achieve their personal bests in the areas of academic achievement, athletic success, character formation and spiritual growth.
Each of these student-athletes was nominated by a SACE team member based upon their embodiment of each of the four pillars.
A freshman from Lubbock, Texas, Jordan is a pre-business major who earned a 4.0 in his first semester at Baylor and is on pace for another 4.0 in the spring. "Kyler works hard every day, never complains and always has a smile on his face," said Emily DeRatt, Assistant AD for Academic Services. "Kyler also places his spiritual growth as a top priority and is active in opportunities given to him by our Sports Ministry unit."
After earning all-state honors in football and baseball at Cooper High School, Kyler played in three games in his first season with the Bears and has worked his way up the depth chart this spring at the Jack outside linebacker spot. "I am so blessed that Baylor is giving me the opportunity to play the sport that I love while being educated from one of the top universities in the nation," Kyler said. "It doesn't get much better than that."
Maile, a sophomore from South Jordan, Utah, majoring in corporate communications, "brightens up every room he enters with his contagious smile and cheerful personality," said Molly Ann Walke, associate director of learning support. "His professors often remark on his active participation in class, and his tutors report the same in their sessions. At the leadership retreat, his perspective was a valuable contribution to the group throughout the weekend."
Ranked as the No. 7 offensive guard in the country by ESPN coming out of high school, Maile was selected to participate in the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame's Polynesian Bowl in January 2022. "Being a Baylor student-athlete takes a lot. There's a standard we have to uphold and expectations we need to meet," he said. "I'm honored to be at Baylor University and wouldn't want it any other way. It's a blessing."
On track to earn her personal-best GPA and make the dean's list during the in-season spring semester, Govan is a junior from Katy, Texas, who transferred to Baylor after three years at SFA. "Shay has done an amazing job balancing her second semester here at Baylor," said Quentin Hendershot, associate director of academic services. "In addition, Shay has played a key part in the success that the softball team has experienced this season."
One of the top hitters in the Big 12, Govan is batting .394 with a team-high nine home runs and 43 RBIs for a 34-10 Baylor softball team that is 15thin the latest NCAA RPI rankings. "Being a student-athlete here at Baylor allows me to compete at a high level on the field and in the classroom," she said.
Kitchens, already accepted to medical school for neuroscience at South Alabama University, "has done a fantastic job on staying on top of her academics this semester," Hendershot said. A winner of the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award last year, the senior from Kennesaw, Ga., is on pace to make the Dean's list for the eighth time.
On the mat, she has been a part of two national championship teams, won three-consecutive NCATA Athlete of the Week honors this season, four overall, and earned a perfect 10 on her six-element tumbling pass against Quinnipiac. "Baylor has provided me with countless resources throughout my academic journey," she said. "I have been surrounded by people that have pushed me to be the best student possible. Now as a graduating senior, I feel equipped for my next steps."
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