Ten Huskies named NFCA All-America Scholar Athletes
10/5/2021 3:37:00 PM | Softball
LEXINGTON, KY. - The St. Cloud State University softball team not only excelled on the field in 2021 but in the classroom, earning multiple team and individual awards during the season. On Tuesday, 10 Huskies were recognized as All-America Scholar-Athletes by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).Â
Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville) became the fourth student-athlete in program history to become a four-year recipient of the honor, joining former standouts Kate Kopeck, Kelly Olson and Rachel Haines as the only four-year NFCA Scholar Athletes in program history, according to available records. Lauren Kirchberg (Columbus, Wis. / Columbus) was named an NFCA Scholar Athlete for the second time in her Huskies career, while Sophie Culhane (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove), Cassie Francesconi (Schomberg, Ontario / Emily Carr Secondary), Kaitlyn Istvanovich (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes), Lydia Krueger (Appleton, Wis. / Appleton North), Gabrielle Nelson (Fargo, N.D. / West) Madie Pich (Blaine, Minn. / Spring Lake Park), Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) and Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) were all first time recipients of the prestigious honor.Â
In order to be named an NFCA Scholar Athlete, student-athletes must achieve and maintain a 3.5 or better grade point average (GPA) during the academic year. In total, 99 Huskies have been named NFCA Scholar Athletes since its inception in 1999, and the 10 honorees in 2021 is the highest total for the Huskies since 2000
All 10 of these student-athletes were named to the NSIC All-Academic Team earlier this week and helped the team compile a spring GPA of 3.64. In fact, all 21 Huskies maintained a 3.0 or better GPA during the spring season, and 19 of the 21 student-athletes on the roster posted a 3.0 or better GPA during the entire 2020-21 academic year.Â
In total, 8800 softball student-athletes were recognized by the NFCA as All-America Scholar athletes, including 1727 Division II honorees.
