COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M middle blocker Jazzmin Babers (pronounced BAY-bers) was named First-Team Senior CLASS Award All-American, it was announced today. She joins overall winner Paige Tapp of Minnesota, Inky Ajanaku of Stanford, Kadie Rolfzen of Nebraska and Lauren Smith of Creighton on the five-member first team.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The award, chosen by a nationwide vote of Division I volleyball coaches, national volleyball media and fans, is given annually to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in Division I volleyball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: classroom, community, character and competition.
Babers, from Syracuse, N.Y., started all 122 matches throughout her illustrious career and became the Texas A&M all-time career record holder in total blocks (562) and block assists (494). In addition, her .370 career hitting percentage ranks second in school annals.
Babers, who also holds numerous other Texas A&M all-time and SEC match, season and career records, was named to the 2016 SEC Community Service Team as a senior. In addition, she was selected to the All-SEC Team for a third consecutive season, having led the Aggies with a .363 hitting percentage while averaging 2.53 kills and 3.19 points per set. A team captain, Babers was second on the team with 1.19 blocks per set.
As a junior, Babers helped the Aggies win the Southeastern Conference championship, and she became the eighth player in Texas A&M history to be selected to an AVCA All-America team, garnering second team honors after hitting a school season-record .412, smashing the previous record of .400 which had stood since 1984.
Among the many other accolades earned throughout her career, Babers earned AVCA Honorable Mention All-America laurels as a sophomore, and she was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and was AVCA All-South Region Honorable Mention following her rookie campaign.
Off the court, Babers is majoring in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis in education. She also is engaged in numerous philanthropic activities. A member of the local Fellowship of Christian Athletes leadership team, Babers is responsible for community outreach. She also serves as a speaker, sharing testimonies at local schools and churches. In May, Babers and several teammates went on a humanitarian trip to Haiti to spread the gospel and do manual labor.
Other charitable activities she has participated in include spending time at the Bryan Adult Learning Center, where she volunteered in an adult ESL class, taught lessons and helped with one-on-one work; Aggies Move, teaching elementary children how to live active lives and stay healthy while also teaching them basic volleyball skills; Science Olympiad, a science competition for middle school and high school students from throughout Texas in which she helped with set up and take down, monitored and distributed tests, graded tests and was an overseer and judge for certain science competitions; The Big Event in which she helped an elderly couple prepare their home for moving out, painting, cleaning windows and boxing up their items; Residence Hall Move-In Assistance Day, helping new and returning Aggies move into their dorms; Aggies CAN, a student-run food drive, and the Brazos Valley Food Bank, where she packed family food boxes. She also has volunteered at a local elementary school, working one-on-one or in small groups with students needing extra help or with advanced students needing more challenging work.
Babers, who aspires to be an elementary school teacher, is slated to graduate in May.
For more information, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Babers and Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.
First-Team Senior CLASS Award All-Americans
Inky Ajanaku, Stanford
Jazzmin Babers, Texas A&M
Kadie Rolfzen, Nebraska
Lauren Smith, Creighton
Paige Tapp, Minnesota
Second-Team Senior CLASS Award All-Americans
Amy Boswell, BYU
Katie Brand, Kansas State
Claire Felix, UCLA
Hannah Tapp, Minnesota
Taylor Whittingham, USC
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics