The 13 selections was the most in the Missouri Valley Conference, while the Redbirds' 3.47 cumulative GPA ranked 14th nationally
Dec. 11, 2012
NORMAL, Ill. - A Missouri Valley Conference-best 13 Illinois State softball players earned 2011-12 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America Scholar-Athlete accolades, based on their performance in the classroom last academic year. The award is bestowed upon any player submitted by a member coach who achieved a 3.50 grade-point-average (GPA) or higher during the 2011-12 academic year.
Nine current players - Taylor Baxter, Sara Bradley, Nichelle Harrison, Kolby Hoffman, Elizabeth Kay, Lauren Kellar, Sophia Perez, Shelby Music and Kelsey Turczyn earned recognition for the Redbirds. Three recipients - Jordan Birch, Caiti Kopp and Megan Warner - completed their playing careers last season, while Chrissy Burton, a 2008-11 Redbird, rounded out the group.
The honor marks the second component of the Association's academic award program, as teams were identified back in October for their academic performance as a whole. The Redbirds received all-academic honors with a cumulative 2011-12 GPA of 3.47, ranking them 14th nationally and third in the Valley.
The Redbirds will open their season by participating in the Getterman Classic, Feb. 7-9, on the campus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. The full schedule will be released in the coming weeks on GoRedbirds.com.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
