ROSEMONT, IL – Fourteen members of the Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse team have been named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars it was announced Monday. The list includes 1,912 students from all 18 institutions, plus affiliate members Johns Hopkins and Notre Dame.  Collectively, this group competed in 41 different sports who have recorded a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year.
 
The 2025-26 class of Distinguished Scholar Award recipients includes 344 students who maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA during the previous academic term. Senior Reagan O'Brien was among the recipients with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
 
Hopkins has now produced 107 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars since joining the league in 2017. Juniors Jaelyn Bennett and Sam Tate earn the honor for the second time in their careers.
 
Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must have earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition in the previous academic year, must have been enrolled full time at the institution for the entire previous academic year (two semesters or three quarters) and earned a minimum GPA of 3.70 or better during the previous academic year, excluding any summer grades. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for a student's academic career.
 
Johns Hopkins 2026 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars:
Ava Angello (Sr. • A) • Economics
Reese Benford (So. • M) • Political Science
Jaelyn Bennett (Jr. • A) • Medicine, Science and the Humanities **
Samantha DiCarlo (Jr. • M) • Public Health
Morgan Giardina (Sr. • GK) • Engineering Mechanics
Laurel Gonzalez (So. • M) • Public Health
Taylor Hoss (Jr. • A) • Psychology
Hannah Johnson (Sr. • D) • Mechanical Engineering
MK Lescault (Jr. • M) • Public Health
Jillian McNaughton (Sr. • D) • Mechanical Engineering
Reagan O'Brien (Sr. • D) • Political Science
Heidi Rosely (Jr. • GK) • Economics
Ella Springer (So. • A) • Public Health
Sam Tate (Jr. • D) • Political Science **
 
** Two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar
 
4.0 GPA