2017-18 Scholar-Athletes | 2017-18 Academic Teams
LEXINGTON, Ky. - For the fifth consecutive season, the National Fastpitch Coaches Associated (NFCA) has honored UT Arlington as an Easton/NFCA All-Academic Team for achieving a team GPA of 3.331 in the 2017-18 academic year, announced by the NFCA on Wednesday.
The Mavericks finished 73rd in the nation for team GPA, besting its finish of 78th last season. The NFCA honored 107 teams as All-Academic, while the Mavs were one of six honored in the Sun Belt. Along with the team honor, the Mavericks placed eight on 2017-18 Easton/NFCA All-American Scholar Athlete list.
Bri Burchianti,
Laura Curry,
Melanie Mendoza,
Madison Miller,
Kayci Moore,
Krista Rude,
JoJo Valencia and
Whitney Walton were named All-American scholar athletes.
Sun Belt All-Academic Teams (Ranking)
- Troy - 36
- Coastal Carolina - 34
- Appalachian State - 67
- UT Arlington - 78
- South Alabama - 79
- Georgia State - 80
For the fifth consecutive year, Byron Nelson High School (Texas), under the direction of Kathy Schoettle, posted the top GPA (4.518) in the high school weighted category, while Urbana University (NCAA DII) garnered the overall college GPA with a 3.840 and East Islip (N.Y.) High School (3.918) led the high school unweighted category in the Easton / NFCA Top 10 Academic Team rankings for the 2017-18 school year. Individually, 6,280 softball players earned Easton / NFCA Scholar-Athlete honors.
The rankings and honors recognize the academic prowess of softball teams across the Association's membership categories. NCAA Division III led the way with 1,600 student-athletes earning a 3.5 grade-point average or higher for 2017-18. NCAA Division I and Division II followed with 1,311 and 1,026 honorees. High School weighted and High School unweighted earned 743 and 589 distinctions. Two-year colleges amassed 553 recipients and NAIA totaled 456.
Grand Canyon University (3.790) and Otterbein University (3.751) led NCAA Division I & III, while Indiana University Southeast (3.697) posted the top NAIA mark and Iowa Western Community College set the two-year college standard with a 3.700 GPA.
