INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) has identified a record 581 student-athletes who have earned the GLVC Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award, it was announced 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 includes 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 in 2019-20 at 555. The 2020-21 total of 530 was not far off the record set the previous year, despite there being only 15 full-time league members. The 2021-22 total set a new league record with a 9.62 percent increase from a year ago.

Here is the complete list of Bulldogs honored:
Connor McKenna, Baseball, Truman State
Cade McKnight, Men's Basketball, Truman State
Emma Bulman, Women's Basketball, Truman State
Carly Printy, Women's Basketball, Truman State
Claire Rake, Women's Basketball, Truman State
Maddie Re, Women's Basketball, Truman State
Evan AuBuchon, Men's Cross Country/Track & Field, Truman State
Nathan Key, Men's Cross Country/Track & Field, Truman State
Alexis Henrikson, Women's Cross Country/Track & Field, Truman State
Madeline Lee, Women's Cross Country/Track & Field, Truman State
Lydia Lehmbeck, Women's Cross Country/Track & Field, Truman State
Cora Stimpson, Women's Cross Country/Track & Field, Truman State
Jacob Morris, Football, Truman State
Joshua Scheiderer, Football, Truman State
Jake Tuttle, Football, Truman State
Justin Watson, Football, Truman State
Emily Ducaji, Women's Golf, Truman State
Natalie Fatka, Women's Golf, Truman State
Kara Hunt, Women's Golf, Truman State
Molly Jones, Women's Golf, Truman State
Sydney Young, Women's Golf, Truman State
Sam Newton, Men's Soccer, Truman State
Olivia Bryner, Women's Soccer, Truman State
Cassidy Gann, Women's Soccer, Truman State
Anna Meyer, Women's Soccer, Truman State
Camryn Sprauge, Women's Soccer, Truman State
Molly Whitehead, Women's Soccer, Truman State
Kayla Quanstrum, Softball, Truman State
Lauren Stade, Softball, Truman State
AJ Kohler, Men's Swimming & Diving, Truman State
Connor Neils, Men's Swimming & Diving, Truman State
Abby Bomball, Women's Swimming & Diving, Truman State
Christina Jurotich, Women's Swimming & Diving, Truman State
Sam Seggerman, Women's Tennis, Truman State
Robert Campbell, Men's Track & Field, Truman State
Cooper Doolin, Men's Track & Field, Truman State
Kendall Dascher, Women's Track & Field, Truman State
Morgan Smith, Volleyball, Truman State
Kate Benzing, Volleyball, Truman State
Hanna Berry, Volleyball, Truman State
Rachel DeFries, Volleyball, Truman State
Ellie Kaat, Volleyball, Truman State

The complete list of 2021-22 GLVC Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award recipients can be found here.