NOTE: The GLVC contributed portions of this release.

(LEBANON, Ill., June 24)—A total of 24 McKendree University student-athletes earned the Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award from the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). The league announced 536 individuals who received the honor on Wednesday.
 
Named after Brother James Gaffney FSC, former President of Lewis University for over 28 years and two-term Chair of the GLVC Council of Presidents, the award is presented annually to student-athletes competing in GLVC-sponsored sports who achieve a 4.0 grade point average during the course of the academic year. The total number of honorees include the 15 full-time GLVC members as well as eligible associate league members.
 
The GLVC has seen a significant rise in perfect 4.0 GPAs since the inception of the award in 2016-17, although it began tracking the unblemished marks in 2013-14 as part of the Academic All-GLVC process. After seeing 114 students earn 4.0 GPAs in 2013-14 and 118 in 2014-15, the total spiked 52 percent to 179 in 2015-16, and then 54 percent to 275 in 2016-17 for the inaugural honor. The total jumped to a record 298 students across 15 full-time member institutions in 2017-18, and the league maintained its impressive position with 292 from 14 full-time schools in 2018-19, before nearly doubling the previous record with an 89 percent increase across 16 schools last year at 555. This year's total was not far off the record set a year ago, despite there being only 15 full-time league members compared to 16 in 2019-20.
 
The McKendree honorees for the 2020-21 GLVC Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award are listed below:
 
Noah Pierce, Baseball, McKendree
Evan Spears, Baseball, McKendree
Lauren Stolzman, Women's Basketball, McKendree
Jordan Sprycha, Football, McKendree
Kenny Thomason, Football, McKendree
Will Postlethwaite, Men's Golf, McKendree
Clara Andrews, Women's Lacrosse, McKendree
Mackenzie Bemis, Women's Lacrosse, McKendree
Molly Muennich, Women's Lacrosse, McKendree
Jessica Hoffman, Women's Soccer, McKendree
Destiny Johnson, Women's Soccer, McKendree
Morgan Andrews, Softball, McKendree
Abby Behlmann, Softball, McKendree 
Jenny Homann, Softball, McKendree
Shelby Summer, Softball, McKendree
Noah Fishel, Men's Swimming & Diving, McKendree
Hallie Dixon, Women's Swimming & Diving, McKendree
Haley Rey, Women's Swimming & Diving, McKendree
Leonardo Frederico, Men's Tennis, McKendree
Viola Cipriani, Women's Tennis, McKendree
Brianna Binder, Women's Volleyball, McKendree
Maddie Misner, Women's Volleyball, McKendree
Ryan Haynes, Men's Wrestling, McKendree
Vincenzo Scaletta, Men's Wrestling, McKendree

Click here to view the full list of 2020-21 GLVC Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award recipients.