SACE May Champions of the Month
5/25/2023 11:42:00 AM | Student-Athlete Center for Excellence, Champions of the Month
Student-Athletes from A&T, Equestrian, Football and Baseball selected as May Champions of the Month
WACO, Texas – Sophia Neylon (acrobatics & tumbling), Kendall Lawson (equestrian), JJ Evans (football) and Cole Posey (baseball) have been selected as the Student-Athlete Center for Excellence (SACE) May 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 Houston, Texas, majoring in health science studies, Neylon had a 4.0 GPA in the fall and excelled again in the spring to complete a successful first year at Baylor. Assistant academic coach Justine Tam said Sophia "has done an amazing job within her short time at Baylor. She is always someone her teammates can go to for help and is an all-around amazing woman."
"My time at Baylor has shaped me into a more responsible and resilient human," Neylon said. "From my teammates' encouragement throughout my ACL recovery to simple check-ins, this team is my home away from home. At the beginning, college academics were a big adjustment. With the support of my coaches, friends and academic staff, I have found great success in college-level courses through much trial and error."
Lawson, has served others with 30-plus community service hours, gone on mission trips and also participated in Leadership Retreat. "Not only has Kendall been growing in her faith, engaging in our programming and spending time being mentored by Holly (McKenzie)," Director of Sports Ministry John Maurer said, "but she is sharing her faith with her teammates, building relationships, inviting them to church and FCA and even meeting with them one-on-one."
A sophomore from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, majoring in corporate communications, Kendall says "being a student-athlete at Baylor provides me with a sense of pride in a Christian community and team. I am blessed and grateful for the opportunity to be at Baylor. It is beyond amazing to be a Baylor Bear!"
Balancing football, schoolwork and his faith, Evans "has been growing spiritually this semester," Maurer said. "Even though jumping into iDisciple was a big stretch for him, he did it (with plenty of help from Alfonzo Allen) and is becoming more confident in speaking about his faith. I actually think he has a gift to speak, he just doesn't know it yet."
Majoring in health, kinesiology and leisure studies, the freshman linebacker from Tenaha, Texas, played in three games in the fall. "JJ has done a great job the second half of the semester working ahead on assignments," said Lauren Kirby, Assistant AD for Learning Support. "Outside of sessions, he gets his work done and has taken great notes in class to prepare for exams."
Back in Texas after three years combined at Boise State and New Mexico, Posey started 47 games as a middle infielder and ranked third on the team with a .397 on-base percentage. "Being an athlete at Baylor has been my dream ever since I can remember," said Posey, a Georgetown native. "I'm thankful to be at a university that cares so much about the athletic, academic and overall well-being of their student-athletes."
In addition to baseball and working on a master's in sport management, Cole has been involved in character formation programs and "has been able to go out into the Waco community to give back to four different non-profit organizations," said Character Formation Coordinator Corina Bourantas. "A leader on and off the field, Cole has been a great influence on the team as well and a huge contributor to the culture of the team."
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 Houston, Texas, majoring in health science studies, Neylon had a 4.0 GPA in the fall and excelled again in the spring to complete a successful first year at Baylor. Assistant academic coach Justine Tam said Sophia "has done an amazing job within her short time at Baylor. She is always someone her teammates can go to for help and is an all-around amazing woman."
"My time at Baylor has shaped me into a more responsible and resilient human," Neylon said. "From my teammates' encouragement throughout my ACL recovery to simple check-ins, this team is my home away from home. At the beginning, college academics were a big adjustment. With the support of my coaches, friends and academic staff, I have found great success in college-level courses through much trial and error."
Lawson, has served others with 30-plus community service hours, gone on mission trips and also participated in Leadership Retreat. "Not only has Kendall been growing in her faith, engaging in our programming and spending time being mentored by Holly (McKenzie)," Director of Sports Ministry John Maurer said, "but she is sharing her faith with her teammates, building relationships, inviting them to church and FCA and even meeting with them one-on-one."
A sophomore from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, majoring in corporate communications, Kendall says "being a student-athlete at Baylor provides me with a sense of pride in a Christian community and team. I am blessed and grateful for the opportunity to be at Baylor. It is beyond amazing to be a Baylor Bear!"
Balancing football, schoolwork and his faith, Evans "has been growing spiritually this semester," Maurer said. "Even though jumping into iDisciple was a big stretch for him, he did it (with plenty of help from Alfonzo Allen) and is becoming more confident in speaking about his faith. I actually think he has a gift to speak, he just doesn't know it yet."
Majoring in health, kinesiology and leisure studies, the freshman linebacker from Tenaha, Texas, played in three games in the fall. "JJ has done a great job the second half of the semester working ahead on assignments," said Lauren Kirby, Assistant AD for Learning Support. "Outside of sessions, he gets his work done and has taken great notes in class to prepare for exams."
Back in Texas after three years combined at Boise State and New Mexico, Posey started 47 games as a middle infielder and ranked third on the team with a .397 on-base percentage. "Being an athlete at Baylor has been my dream ever since I can remember," said Posey, a Georgetown native. "I'm thankful to be at a university that cares so much about the athletic, academic and overall well-being of their student-athletes."
In addition to baseball and working on a master's in sport management, Cole has been involved in character formation programs and "has been able to go out into the Waco community to give back to four different non-profit organizations," said Character Formation Coordinator Corina Bourantas. "A leader on and off the field, Cole has been a great influence on the team as well and a huge contributor to the culture of the team."
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