SACE February Champions of the Month
2/23/2024 3:48:00 PM | Student-Athlete Center for Excellence, Champions of the Month
Student-Athletes from Volleyball, Women’s Basketball and Baseball selected as February Champions of the Month
WACO, Texas – Kyndal Stowers (volleyball, Lety Vasconcelos (women's basketball), Ty Johnson (baseball) and Tyriq Kemp (baseball) have been selected as the Student-Athlete Center for Excellence (SACE) February 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.
As a participant in Leadership Institute, Stowers is "working on how her influence and leadership translate to (the volleyball team's) culture," said Christal Peterson, Baylor Assistant AD for Character Formation. "She is also a stellar student in the classroom as a pre-business major."
Stowers, a sophomore from Denton, Texas, earned Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors before missing the second half of the season with an injury. "Being a student at Baylor has shown me how my faith, athletics and academics all work together," she said. "And how the Lord will remain faithful through them all."
A pre-business major from Brazil, Vasconcelos is "not afraid to put in the extra time and hold herself accountable when it comes to the academic standard that not only Baylor has set, but she has set for herself," said learning specialist Alexis Barnes. "She has done an amazing job stepping up to the challenge of being the only freshman on the team and taking care of business both on and off the court."
Lety, a 2023 McDonald's All-American Games nominee, said she has come a long way in her academic journey. "I have learned how to manage my time and be on track even through the season and all the traveling, thanks to all the support that Baylor has given me, which I'm so grateful for."
A transfer from McLennan Community College, Johnson had a perfect 4.0 GPA in the fall term while taking some difficult classes and getting acclimated to Baylor and the baseball team. "He has already become a leader on the team, both on athletic performance but also character and leadership," said Ryan Amodei, associate director of academic services.
The Bears' starting centerfielder and high school teammate of third baseman Hunter Teplanszky, Johnson said being a student-athlete at Baylor "means using my sport and academics as a platform to honor what God is doing for me in my life."
An international student who was a member of the 2022 Dutch National Team that placed eighth at the U23 Baseball World Cup in Mexico, Kemp "always has a positive attitude and is willing to put in the extra work," Barnes said. "Being an international student has added on an extra layer of difficulty, but he has never used that as an excuse or crutch to not excel."
In two seasons at Western Oklahoma State College, Kemp hit 17 homers with 92 RBIs and 40 stolen bases. "I feel blessed for being a student-athlete at Baylor," he said. "They care a lot about my career and future and would do anything to help me succeed and be successful in what I do."
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.
As a participant in Leadership Institute, Stowers is "working on how her influence and leadership translate to (the volleyball team's) culture," said Christal Peterson, Baylor Assistant AD for Character Formation. "She is also a stellar student in the classroom as a pre-business major."
Stowers, a sophomore from Denton, Texas, earned Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors before missing the second half of the season with an injury. "Being a student at Baylor has shown me how my faith, athletics and academics all work together," she said. "And how the Lord will remain faithful through them all."
A pre-business major from Brazil, Vasconcelos is "not afraid to put in the extra time and hold herself accountable when it comes to the academic standard that not only Baylor has set, but she has set for herself," said learning specialist Alexis Barnes. "She has done an amazing job stepping up to the challenge of being the only freshman on the team and taking care of business both on and off the court."
Lety, a 2023 McDonald's All-American Games nominee, said she has come a long way in her academic journey. "I have learned how to manage my time and be on track even through the season and all the traveling, thanks to all the support that Baylor has given me, which I'm so grateful for."
A transfer from McLennan Community College, Johnson had a perfect 4.0 GPA in the fall term while taking some difficult classes and getting acclimated to Baylor and the baseball team. "He has already become a leader on the team, both on athletic performance but also character and leadership," said Ryan Amodei, associate director of academic services.
The Bears' starting centerfielder and high school teammate of third baseman Hunter Teplanszky, Johnson said being a student-athlete at Baylor "means using my sport and academics as a platform to honor what God is doing for me in my life."
An international student who was a member of the 2022 Dutch National Team that placed eighth at the U23 Baseball World Cup in Mexico, Kemp "always has a positive attitude and is willing to put in the extra work," Barnes said. "Being an international student has added on an extra layer of difficulty, but he has never used that as an excuse or crutch to not excel."
In two seasons at Western Oklahoma State College, Kemp hit 17 homers with 92 RBIs and 40 stolen bases. "I feel blessed for being a student-athlete at Baylor," he said. "They care a lot about my career and future and would do anything to help me succeed and be successful in what I do."
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