Kent State Athletics Celebrates Student-Athletes at Annual Devine Dinner
5/21/2026 11:14:00 AM | Baseball, General, Women's Basketball, Wrestling, Women's Track & Field
KENT, Ohio — Kent State Athletics recently celebrated nearly 300 student-athletes for success in the classroom and awarded top honors at the annual Judith K. Devine Athletic Academic Honors Dinner.
Named for Judy Devine, the matriarch of Kent State athletics who spent 31 years in various administrative, academic and coaching roles, the event honors sophomore, junior and senior student-athletes and spirit team members who have maintained at least a 3.25 accumulative grade point average and freshmen who earned a 4.0 grade point average in their first term.
Additionally, three individuals and two teams received awards for their outstanding contributions to the department.
Women's basketball student-athlete Dionna Gray received the Judith K. Devine Excellence in Leadership Award, which recognizes a senior student-athlete who has exhibited leadership in all facets of a student-athlete's life, including team, department, collegial unit and community. Gray was an on-court leader for her team and a two-time Academic All-MAC honoree. Additionally, she represented student-athletes as an Undergraduate Student Government At-Large member, was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's executive leadership team and served as a Team Impact Fellow.
Wrestler Blake Schaffer received the Merle Wagoner Award, which recognizes a graduating male student-athlete who has demonstrated exceptional combined qualities of leadership, positive image, athletic ability and academic performance. Schaffer had a phenomenal senior season, finishing runner-up at the 2026 Mid-American Conference Championships at the 197-pound weight class and qualifying for the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships, where he also earned his first match victory to advance. He was a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree.
Track and field student-athlete Karsyn Spears received the Janet Bachna Award, which recognizes a graduating female student-athlete who has demonstrated combined qualities of leadership, positive image, athletic ability and academic performance. Spears has been a standout for the women's track and field program, becoming a two-time MAC Champion in the 800-meter event. She serves as a SAAC rep for the team and has totaled five Academic All-MAC honors.
Baseball and Women's Track and Field received the Kennedy Award, which honors a team which not only demonstrated excellence in competition, but also in the classroom and the community. These three areas combined demonstrate the values that Laing Kennedy emphasized throughout his 16 years as Kent State's Director of Athletics.
The baseball team recently recorded the 13th 40-win season in program history and enters the 2026 MAC Baseball Tournament as the No. 2 seed. In the classroom, the team recorded the highest semester and cumulative GPA in program history during the fall term and also posted a multi-year APR score of 996.
The women's track and field team captured the 2026 MAC Indoor Championships title and placed second at the outdoor conference meet. In the classroom, Flashes have maintained a cumulative team GPA of 3.5 or higher team for seven consecutive semesters and have a multi-year APR score of 998. In the community, they are supporting and volunteering at the Special Olympics and on campus at Flashes Fighting Hunger.
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2025-26 Kent State Athletics Award Winners
Janet Bachna Award: Dionna Gray
Merle Wagoner Award: Blake Schaffer
Janet Bachna Award: Karsyn Spears
Kennedy Award: Baseball, Women's Track and Field
