Forty student-athletes from UIS have been named Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholars for the 2024-25 academic year. The award, presented by the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), recognizes student-athletes who completed the academic year with a 4.0 GPA. This marks the third award announcement of GLVC Academic Awards Week, and the UIS honorees are part of a record 684 student-athletes recognized across the conference.

Four Prairie Stars, Tom Bumann (men's golf), Connor McFadden (men's soccer), Sara Prieto (women's golf), and Anna Schurz (women's soccer), concluded their collegiate careers with an unblemished 4.0 GPA.

In total, 14 Prairie Stars teams were represented. Women's soccer led the way for UIS with 11 honorees, breaking into double digits again this year.

Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholars
Jorden Williams, Men's Basketball
Mandi Pham, Women's Basketball
Makenna Yeager, Women's Basketball/Soccer
Brendan Cairney, Men's Cross Country/Track & Field
Emma Leahy, Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
Maggie Von Hatten, Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
Tom Bumann, Men's Golf
Francesco Abba Jr., Men's Golf
Ira Joshi, Women's Golf
Sara Prieto, Women's Golf
Noah Brill, Men's Soccer
Marco Buttler, Men's Soccer
Josh Conrad, Men's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Lucas Harris, Men's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Or Levinstein, Men's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Connor McFadden, Men's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Spencer Vincent, Men's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Brooke Biffar, Women's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Katelyn Cavanaugh, Women's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Elena Dimaggio, Women's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
McKenna Gahagan, Women's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Madison Grandys, Women's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Reese Lowery, Women's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Claire Ruter, Women's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Anna Schurz, Women's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Rowan Severson, Women's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Hannah Stearns, Women's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Maren Wolf, Women's Soccer, Illinois Springfield
Rosie Bartletti, Softball, Illinois Springfield
Ella Brinkley, Softball, Illinois Springfield
Jillian Lane, Softball, Illinois Springfield
Bailey Masching, Softball, Illinois Springfield
Adi Rumler, Softball, Illinois Springfield
Taylor Zawacki, Softball, Illinois Springfield
Pablo Herrera, Men's Tennis, Illinois Springfield
Kamila Kalinowska, Women's Tennis, Illinois Springfield
Carmen Llopis Fabra, Women's Tennis, Illinois Springfield
Piper Schrepferman, Women's Tennis, Illinois Springfield
Haley Allen, Women's Volleyball, Illinois Springfield
Madison Siefken, Women's Volleyball, Illinois Springfield

For the full GLVC release, visit glvcsports.com.