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<h1 align="right" style="text-align:right"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;text-decoration:none">BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – August 16, 2023<o:p></o:p></span></b></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<h2 align="left" style="text-align:left"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;font-style:normal">Baylor MGOLF’s Keefer Named Men's Golf Scholar-Athlete of The Year Again<o:p></o:p></span></b></h2>
<h2 align="left" style="text-align:left"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;font-style:normal">The senior is the first Big 12 men's golfer to win back-to-back Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards<o:p></o:p></span></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt">For more information, contact:
</span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Matt Roberts, 254-227-2280, </span><a href="mailto:WM_Roberts@Baylor.edu"><span style="font-size:9.0pt">WM_Roberts@Baylor.edu</span></a><strong><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;font-weight:normal"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">WACO, Texas – </span></strong><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal">Baylor men’s golfer
Johnny Keefer has been selected as the Big 12 Conference Men's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second-straight season, announced Tuesday by the conference office.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal">In addition to being the first men’s golfer in Big 12 history to win the award in back-to-back seasons, he joins Baylor women’s golfer
Laura Lonardi as the only Bears to win the award in consecutive seasons. <o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal">With Keefer’s second selection, BU men's golf has now claimed the Men's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in four of the last seven
seasons. He joins Matthew Perrine (2017) and Colin Kober (2019), contributing to Baylor's 30 scholar-athletes of the year, which is second-most in the Big 12.
<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal">The men's golf program now has four Big 12 scholar-athletes of the year, tying women's golf and baseball for the most winners among Baylor
programs. <o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal">An accounting from San Antonio, Texas, Keefer major enjoyed another successful season on and off the golf course leading the team in
stroke average for a second-straight season (71.62), with a team-high 90.3% of his rounds counting towards the teams’ score, his 19 rounds at par or better also paced the Bears, as did his five top-10 finishes.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal">The first Baylor player to compete in the final round of the NCAA Championship stroke play since 2017, Keefer was named to the Golf Coaches
Association of America PING All-District South Team, in a season where he played 19.8% of his holes under par, which also led the team.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal">Carrying a 3.68 GPA, Keefer was also named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team for a third time, in addition to being selected as a
GCAA All-American Scholar and a College Sports Communicators All-District honoree.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal">The Big 12 Conference established its Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in 2012-13. A recipient is named in each conference-sponsored
sport. Every Big 12 institution nominates one individual per sport, with the winners selected by the league head coaches for that sport, who are not allowed to vote for their student-athletes. Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominees must be a junior or senior
(athletic and academic standing), have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher, participate in at least 20 percent of the team's scheduled contests and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution.</span></strong><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal">
</span></strong><strong><span style="color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal">For more information on Baylor Men’s Golf, follow @BaylorMGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">BAYLOR'S BIG 12 SCHOLAR-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR</span></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Baseball – Doug Ashby (2014), Logan Brown (2015), Richard Cunningham (2017), Kyle Hill (2019)</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Equestrian – Rachel Van Allen (2018), Rachael Davis (2020)</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Football – </span>
<a href="https://baylorbears.com/staff.aspx?staff=26"><span style="color:black;background:white;text-decoration:none">Nick Florence</span></a><span style="color:black;background:white"> (2012), Dillon Doyle (2022)</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Men's Basketball – Freddie Gillespie (2020), Jared Butler (2021)</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Men's Golf – Matthew Perrine (2017), Colin Kober (2019),
<b>Johnny Keefer (2022 & 2023)</b></span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Men's Tennis – Patrick Pradella (2014), Jimmy Bendeck (2019)</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Men's XC – Blake Niccum (2012), Jonathan Tijerina (2014)</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Soccer – Dana Larsen (2012), Precious Akanyirige (2017)</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Softball – Kathy Shelton (2013), Heather Stearns (2015)</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Volleyball – Shelly (Fanning) Stafford (2018 & 2019)</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Women's Golf – Laura Lonardi (2015 & 2016), </span><a href="https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10292"><span style="color:black;background:white;text-decoration:none">Elodie Chapelet</span></a><span style="color:black;background:white"> (2021),
Gurleen Kaur (2022)</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Women's Tennis – Blair Shankle (2017)</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Women's XC – Lindsey Bradley (2017)</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#666666;background:white"> </span><span style="color:black;background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="color:black;background:white">BIG 12 SCHOLAR-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR BY SCHOOL</span></u></b><span style="color:black;background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Iowa State-37<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Baylor-30<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Kansas State-25<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">West Virginia-25<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Oklahoma State-23<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Oklahoma-21<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Texas-19<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Kansas-18<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">TCU-18<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Texas Tech-14<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Denver-3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">North Dakota State-2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Northern Colorado-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">South Dakota State-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Tennessee-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Alabama- 1</span><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;font-weight:normal"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>2022-23 SEASON AWARDS<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Luke Dossey<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All-American Scholar<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Academic All-Big 12 First Team<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">CSC Academic All-District<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Scout McNealy Award Winner<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">David Toms Award<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Zach Heffernan<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Academic All-Big 12 Second Team<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Tyler Isenhart<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All-American Scholar<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Academic All-Big 12 First Team<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">CSC Academic All-District<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Johnny Keefer<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Men's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All-American Scholar<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Academic All-Big 12 First Team<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">CSC Academic All-American<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">GCAA PING All-Region South Team<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Drew Wrightson<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Academic All-Big 12 First Team<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Big 12 All-Tournament Team<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">CSC Academic All-American<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><a href="http://www.BaylorBears.com"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">www.BaylorBears.com</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">
</span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Matt Roberts | Associate Director of Athletic Communications (MBB/MGOLF/ WGOLF) <br>
Department of Athletics | Baylor University<br>
C: 254-227-2280</span><span style="color:#212121;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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