THOMASVILLE, Ga. -The Thomasville-Thomas County Sports Hall of Fame recognized student-athletes of the year from each of the area schools at the 31st annual Hall of Fame Banquet Thursday, November 13th at 7pm at Thomasville High School. Students were selected by their coaches and athletic directors based on athletic accomplishments, character, leadership abilities and community involvement.
Athletes of the year from Thomas University are Ali Baca and Elias Garcia.
The male athlete of the year honoree Elias Garcia is a baseball player at TU. Garcia is a three-year letterman in the program. He led the team in four statistical categories last season with 51 hits, a .454 on base percentage, 16 stolen bases, and a perfect fielding percentage. He was named team captain for the 2025-2026 season marking the first time a team captain has been named in seven years. Garcia earned SSAC Academic All-Conference honors last season and has been named to the Dean's list every semester since 2023. In his time at TU Garcia has served as a member of the Goalline Ministries leadership group.
The female athlete of the year honoree Ali Baca is a women's soccer player at TU. Baca is a four-year letterman in the program and has been a team captain for one year. In 2022 Baca received all freshman team honors in The Sun Conference, while she received second-team all-conference honors three years in a row in the Southern States Athletic Conference. In 2025 she was also named a player to watch for TU in the SSAC. Academically Baca has earned academic-all conference honors all four years at TU while also claiming two academic all-district honors. In her time at TU Baca has been a member of the Tri-Beta Biological Honor Society, a member of the Math and Science Club, the TU Pickleball Club, while helping Goalline Ministries with the events. In her spare time Baca has also helped conduct several youth soccer camps with local organizations such as TASA, UFA, and the YMCA.
The Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1994. Its purpose is to recognize outstanding local athletes, coaches, officials, and people who have made major contributions to the sports tradition of Thomasville and Thomas County. In honoring recipients worthy of this recognition, the inductees must possess lifestyles which identify each as a positive role model for the youth of our community, in addition to excelling in their particular athletic environment. Proceeds from the event support the Thomasville YMCA's mission of service to the youth sports programs of the community.
