SACE February Champions of the Month
3/5/2025 9:37:00 AM | Student-Athlete Center for Excellence, Champions of the Month
Student-Athletes from Soccer, Men’s and Women’s Track & Field and Men’s Basketball selected as February Champions of the Month
WACO, Texas – Azul Alvarez (soccer), Molly Haywood (women's track & field), VJ Edgecombe (men's basketball) and JL Van Rensburg (women's track & field) 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.
A senior from Austin, Texas, majoring in Spanish, Alvarez "has started off the semester very well, specifically with academics," said Ally Barnhart, assistant learning specialist. "She is working hard in the classroom and is trending toward a personal-best academic performance."
The second-year transfer from TCU started all 20 games for the Bears in the fall and ranked first in the Big 12 with a .828 saves percentage (101 saves, 21 goals against). "I'm really grateful for the chance to be at Baylor, where I can play at a high level, get a great education and be a part of a team that helps me grow," she said.
Haywood, a sophomore from Tomball, Texas, majoring in management and accounting, won her second Big 12 pole vaulting title with a meet, facility and school-record mark of 15 feet, 1 ½ inches at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. "Watching her break her personal best three times in one meet and rise to the top of the Big 12 has been incredible," said Dr. Samantha Williams, Assistant Director of Academic Services.
"The definition of a student-athlete," Molly is a standout Business Administration major while balancing the demands of being a student-athlete. "Being a student-athlete has helped me learn discipline and time management while balancing excellence in academics and excelling in sport," said Haywood, who will compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships next week.
Edgecombe, just named one of five finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year award, has averaged 17.2 points over the last 12 games, shooting 47% from the field, 40% from three and 80% from the line. He ranks eighth in the league with 16.3 points per game in conference play and is on pace for the fifth-best scoring average by a freshman in program history (14.6).
Projected to be a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the 6-5 freshman from the Bahamas said he loves "representing Baylor and showing my appreciation and respect to the school by working hard on and off the floor."
Another outstanding freshman, Van Rensburg has already rewritten the record books for Baylor track and field, breaking the school record three times in the shot put and finishing fourth at the Big 12 Indoor Championships with a career-best throw of 62 feet, 6 ½ inches. The South African has "seamlessly transitioned into life as international student-athlete," Dr. Williams said, "while declaring his major in Business Administration."
Van Rensburg, who now holds six of the top eight shot put marks in program history, said he believes "God gave me the opportunity to be a student-athlete at Baylor, and I see it as my temporary purpose in life. With this in mind, I will pursue my role as the best student-athlete I can be, striving for excellence on and off the field."
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 senior from Austin, Texas, majoring in Spanish, Alvarez "has started off the semester very well, specifically with academics," said Ally Barnhart, assistant learning specialist. "She is working hard in the classroom and is trending toward a personal-best academic performance."
The second-year transfer from TCU started all 20 games for the Bears in the fall and ranked first in the Big 12 with a .828 saves percentage (101 saves, 21 goals against). "I'm really grateful for the chance to be at Baylor, where I can play at a high level, get a great education and be a part of a team that helps me grow," she said.
Haywood, a sophomore from Tomball, Texas, majoring in management and accounting, won her second Big 12 pole vaulting title with a meet, facility and school-record mark of 15 feet, 1 ½ inches at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. "Watching her break her personal best three times in one meet and rise to the top of the Big 12 has been incredible," said Dr. Samantha Williams, Assistant Director of Academic Services.
"The definition of a student-athlete," Molly is a standout Business Administration major while balancing the demands of being a student-athlete. "Being a student-athlete has helped me learn discipline and time management while balancing excellence in academics and excelling in sport," said Haywood, who will compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships next week.
Edgecombe, just named one of five finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year award, has averaged 17.2 points over the last 12 games, shooting 47% from the field, 40% from three and 80% from the line. He ranks eighth in the league with 16.3 points per game in conference play and is on pace for the fifth-best scoring average by a freshman in program history (14.6).
Projected to be a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the 6-5 freshman from the Bahamas said he loves "representing Baylor and showing my appreciation and respect to the school by working hard on and off the floor."
Another outstanding freshman, Van Rensburg has already rewritten the record books for Baylor track and field, breaking the school record three times in the shot put and finishing fourth at the Big 12 Indoor Championships with a career-best throw of 62 feet, 6 ½ inches. The South African has "seamlessly transitioned into life as international student-athlete," Dr. Williams said, "while declaring his major in Business Administration."
Van Rensburg, who now holds six of the top eight shot put marks in program history, said he believes "God gave me the opportunity to be a student-athlete at Baylor, and I see it as my temporary purpose in life. With this in mind, I will pursue my role as the best student-athlete I can be, striving for excellence on and off the field."
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