Jazzmin Babers

Classroom

Jazzmin Babers sports a 3.303 cumulative grade-point average while majoring in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis in elementary education. She has been a member of the fall SEC Academic Honor Roll each of the last two years and has career ambitions to become an elementary school teacher upon her graduation in May 2017.

Character

Babers is highly respected and admired for her leadership qualities, exemplary work ethic and confidence, as well as her infectious positive personality and encouragement. She was an overwhelming choice by her teammates to serve as team captain this season. A model of fortitude, skill and heart, Babers possesses a relentless competitive spirit that has continued to drive her and her team. Despite a history of five orthopedic knee and shoulder surgeries, Babers has continued to flourish and has managed to start every match—103 as of Sept. 22—of her collegiate career while leading Texas A&M to an NCAA Tournament appearance every year, as well as its first-ever conference championship. Teammates trust that she is going to be diligent and dedicated with her training both on and off the court to be the best she can be and that she will give her all to help the team be at its best. Babers has always demonstrated upstanding sportsmanship to friend and foe and is a tremendous ambassador for Texas A&M and its volleyball program.

Community

Unselfish with her spare time, Babers engages 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 mission trip to Haiti to spread the gospel and do manual labor. Babers has been involved in numerous volunteer activities during her career at Texas A&M, including 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. Others activities include Aggies Move, where she taught elementary children how to live active lives and stay healthy while also teaching them basic volleyball skills, and Science Olympiad, which is 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. Babes also has been involved with The Big Event in which she helped an elderly couple prepare their home for moving out by painting, cleaning windows and boxing up their items; Residence Hall Move-In Assistance Day, helping new and returning Aggies move into the 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.

Competition

A nationally decorated middle blocker, Babers has led Texas A&M to the NCAA Tournament ever year of her career, and in 2015 she helped the Aggies win the Southeastern Conference Championship, the first conference title in program history. Also as a junior, Babers 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. Babers was named AVCA Honorable Mention All-America as a sophomore, and she earned AVCA All-South Region Honorable Mention as a freshman. During her junior campaign, Babers became the third player in Texas A&M history to be named AVCA National Player of the Week after leading the Aggies to a 3-0 victory over No. 19 Kentucky and a 3-2 first-ever win against No. 14 Florida, hitting a combined .396 and averaging 1.88 blocks, 3.12 kills and 4.06 points per set in the two victories. A 2016 Preseason All-SEC honoree, Babers was named to the All-SEC Team as a junior and sophomore and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2013. Babers ranks in the top six in the Texas A&M career records for total blocks, blocks assists and points, and she is on pace to finish second in career hitting percentage. Babers holds the school single-match record for total blocks and block assists in a five-set match, and she holds numerous Texas A&M SEC match, season and career records.