SACE April Champions of the Month
5/16/2025 2:48:00 PM | Student-Athlete Center for Excellence, Champions of the Month
Student-Athletes from Acrobatics & Tumbling, Women’s Track & Field, Men’s Tennis and Football selected as March Champions of the Month
WACO, Texas – Jordan Gruendler (acrobatics & tumbling), Lillianna Ifft (women's track & field), Devin Badenhorst (men's tennis) and Sean Thompkins (football) 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.
Gruendler, a senior top from San Antonio, helped A&T win its 10th-consecutive NCATA national championship while earning Specialist of the Year honors and becoming a two-time All-American. "Academically, Jordan continues to excel – she is on track to graduate Summa Cum Laude with a degree in psychology and is poised to complete her sixth-consecutive semester with a 4.0 term GPA," said Quentin Hendershot, Associate Director of Academic Services.
Also selected to the All-Academic Team and Academic Honor Roll, Gruendler repeated as an NCATA individual national champion in the Five-Element Acro and Inversion Pyramid. "Being a student-athlete at Baylor means unwavering care and support from the Baylor community," she said. "In every aspect of student-athlete life, we are never alone, constantly cared for and always valued."
Assistant academic coach Lotta Tiittanen said Ifft, a grad student from Bloomington, Ill., working on her communications degree, "is actively investing in spiritual and personal development through Baylor Sports Ministry's eight-week iDiscipleship program. By engaging in meaningful fellowship with fellow student-athletes, she continues to grow as a well-rounded leader, truly exemplifying what it means to be a Champion for Life."
She has also excelled this spring, finishing fourth in the pole vault at the Michael Johnson Invitational with a career-best mark of 13 feet, 6 ¼ inches. "Being a student-athlete at Baylor is truly a blessing," Ifft said. "I thank God every day that I get to be a part of the Baylor community. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else."
Earning first-team All-Big 12 honors in singles and doubles, Badenhorst played No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles this season, helping the 19th-ranked Bears advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. A sophomore pre-business major from South Africa, Devin "is always willing to go above and beyond for his team and puts in extra hours to make sure he's setting an example," said Candynce Boney, Director of Academic Services.
"I can't believe half of my time here is done at Baylor," Badenhorst said, "but I am so excited what's ahead these next two years. I'm forever grateful for Baylor, and I'm thrilled to be able to continue making my mark on such a fine institution and athletic department."
Thompkins, a redshirt sophomore from Covington, Ga., majoring in health, kinesiology & leisure studies, "worked extremely hard this semester to bring up his GPA and improve his academics," said learning specialist Alexis Barnes. "His willingness to put in the extra time and effort has put him on a path to have his highest semester GPA."
A three-star recruit and all-region player in high school, Thompkins made his Baylor debut in last year's season opener against Tarleton. "I want to say thank you to everybody who has been in my corner throughout my journey here at Baylor," he said. "I worked hard this semester. Things weren't always easy, but I stayed the course and pushed through."
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.
Gruendler, a senior top from San Antonio, helped A&T win its 10th-consecutive NCATA national championship while earning Specialist of the Year honors and becoming a two-time All-American. "Academically, Jordan continues to excel – she is on track to graduate Summa Cum Laude with a degree in psychology and is poised to complete her sixth-consecutive semester with a 4.0 term GPA," said Quentin Hendershot, Associate Director of Academic Services.
Also selected to the All-Academic Team and Academic Honor Roll, Gruendler repeated as an NCATA individual national champion in the Five-Element Acro and Inversion Pyramid. "Being a student-athlete at Baylor means unwavering care and support from the Baylor community," she said. "In every aspect of student-athlete life, we are never alone, constantly cared for and always valued."
Assistant academic coach Lotta Tiittanen said Ifft, a grad student from Bloomington, Ill., working on her communications degree, "is actively investing in spiritual and personal development through Baylor Sports Ministry's eight-week iDiscipleship program. By engaging in meaningful fellowship with fellow student-athletes, she continues to grow as a well-rounded leader, truly exemplifying what it means to be a Champion for Life."
She has also excelled this spring, finishing fourth in the pole vault at the Michael Johnson Invitational with a career-best mark of 13 feet, 6 ¼ inches. "Being a student-athlete at Baylor is truly a blessing," Ifft said. "I thank God every day that I get to be a part of the Baylor community. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else."
Earning first-team All-Big 12 honors in singles and doubles, Badenhorst played No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles this season, helping the 19th-ranked Bears advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. A sophomore pre-business major from South Africa, Devin "is always willing to go above and beyond for his team and puts in extra hours to make sure he's setting an example," said Candynce Boney, Director of Academic Services.
"I can't believe half of my time here is done at Baylor," Badenhorst said, "but I am so excited what's ahead these next two years. I'm forever grateful for Baylor, and I'm thrilled to be able to continue making my mark on such a fine institution and athletic department."
Thompkins, a redshirt sophomore from Covington, Ga., majoring in health, kinesiology & leisure studies, "worked extremely hard this semester to bring up his GPA and improve his academics," said learning specialist Alexis Barnes. "His willingness to put in the extra time and effort has put him on a path to have his highest semester GPA."
A three-star recruit and all-region player in high school, Thompkins made his Baylor debut in last year's season opener against Tarleton. "I want to say thank you to everybody who has been in my corner throughout my journey here at Baylor," he said. "I worked hard this semester. Things weren't always easy, but I stayed the course and pushed through."
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