BATON ROUGE – The LSU Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes (CCACSA) recognizes student-athletes for their scholastic and community achievements each month. Student-athletes are chosen based on their commitment to academic success and for their devotion to volunteerism and service to the community.
Here are the June 2024 CCACSA’s staff Student-Athletes of the Month:
Zy Alexander
Senior, Sport Administration, Football
Reason for nomination: Zy has consistently embodied the values of integrity, hard work, dedication, humility and perseverance. He approaches challenges with honesty and sincerity, earning the trust and respect of his peers and educators. He consistently goes above and beyond in his studies, putting in the extra effort to achieve excellence. Despite his academic achievements, Zy remains refreshingly humble. He never seeks the spotlight but instead quietly leads by example. His humility and modesty are a testament to his character and values. These values have led to him achieving great academic success and earning the President’s Honor Roll for the Spring semester. We are looking forward to his graduation in the near future.
Nominated by: Football Academic Team
Jillian Hoffman
5th Year Senior, Leadership and Human Resource Development, Gymnastics
Reason for nomination: : Jillian has been a welcome addition to the LSU family. Since starting at LSU, she has displayed her dedication to her academics through strong communication and a positive attitude. She is leaving LSU with appearances on the Dean’s List in both Fall and Spring as well as an LSU GPA above a 4.0. Jillian has been a great teammate and a wonderful student-athlete to work with.
Nominated by: Taylor Dennehy, Assistant Director
Angel Reese
Senior – Graduate Spring 2024, Interdisciplinary Studies, Women’s Basketball
Reason for nomination: I am nominating Angel Reese for student-athlete of the month not only because she’s a spring 2024 graduate, but because she completed her degree despite her many obligations outside of the classroom. Being able to juggle her academics, athletic and NIL responsibilities the last 2 months of the semester as well as prepare for the 2024 WNBA draft was by no means an easy task. Angel was the 7th overall pick in the WNBA draft and had to report to team camp on April 28th which meant that she had to work with her instructors via remotely to complete all final coursework and exams. In addition to the spring semester, Angel’s determination to graduate on time pushed her to take and pass 18 credit hours in the previous fall term. We all know and have witnessed Angel’s competitive nature on the court, but few people know that Angel carries that mindset about any and every thing that she does including her academics. Due to having a WNBA game that evening, Angel was not able to attend graduation in person, but that didn’t dampen her spirits as she celebrated this amazing achievement with her Chicago Sky teammates and coaches.
Nominated by: Carole Walker, Senior Associate Director
Taylor Riley
Sophomore, Sport Administration, Women’s Golf
Reason for nomination: Taylor brings a positive attitude and good energy into anything she does. This year, while competing in both the Fall and the Spring, she still made time to participate in activities outside of athletics, including SAAC. She does a great job networking with people from all different areas. Taylor has grown so much since coming to LSU, and continues to display the best qualities of being a student-athlete!
Nominated by: Taylor Dennehy, Assistant Director
Kai Rivers
Graduate Student, Master’s in Leadership and Human Resource Development, Gymnastics
Reason for nomination: Kai has done an amazing job in her graduate studies. After a strong finish in her undergraduate degree, she decided to pursue a graduate program to further her education and is on track for an August graduation. Her hard work and determination are an inspiration to any student-athlete. I’m so proud of Kai and cannot wait to see what she does in the future.
Nominated by: Taylor Dennehy, Assistant Director
Accountability – Commitment – Success – Integrity – Diversity – Teamwork – Service – Education
It is through living the values of the Total Team Commitment 2017-2022, particularly education, academic success, and service to the community that six student-athletes are recognized as Cox Communications Academic Center Student-Athlete of the month. These values are fundamental to the growth and development of our student-athletes as they enter to learn, then leave to serve.
The Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes is a 54,000 square-foot facility composed of teams for academic affairs, student affairs and information technology, who annually serve more than 500 student-athletes. The purpose of the CCACSA is to provide an all-inclusive, student-centered support structure for all student-athletes from matriculation, through graduation, and life beyond.