McFarlane, Weinberger named First Team Academic All-District by CoSIDA
5/12/2022 12:56:00 PM | Softball
Duo becomes the third and fourth Huskies to earn the honor since 2019
ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The postseason awards continue to roll in for the St. Cloud State University softball team. Fifth year senior Haley McFarlane (Swisher, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prarie) and Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) added to their impressive resumes, as both were named First Team Academic All-District by the College of Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Thursday morning.Â
Thanks to their impressive academic and athletic resumes, McFarlane and Weinberger earned Academic All-District honors for the first time in their respective careers, joining for standouts Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville) and Kate Kopeck (Lumsden, Sask. / Lumsden) as the only Huskies to receive the honor since 2011. They were two of seven student-athletes from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) to receive the prestigious honor and are the first two student-athletes from St. Cloud State to earn the award in the same season.Â
McFarlane was one of four infielders from District 7 to earn First Team Academic All-District honors and does so after a career season both on the field and in the classroom. The fifth year senior maintained a 4.00 GPA as a graduate student studying Sports Management with an emphasis in Kinesiology. On the field, McFarlane put together career numbers despite playing the entire conference season with a torn ACL. In her final season with the Huskies, McFarlane appeared and started all 54 games as either St. Cloud State's first or third baseman and hit a career high .363 with 58 hits in 160 plate appearances. Of those 58 hits, 20 were for extra bases, as McFarlane tallied nine doubles, one triple and 10 home runs during the season, helping the Huskies break the program record for single-season home runs with 60 total.Â
In addition to her impressive hitting numbers, McFarlane was one of the most consistent infielders in the NSIC, as she committed just four errors at the corners in 218 chances. Additionally, just one of those errors occurred when she played first base, making McFarlane one of the most consistent utility players in the conference.Â
Like her teammate, Weinberger earned First Team Academic All-District honors for the first time in her career. A Health and Physical Education major, Weinberger posted a .391 GPA during the season while hitting over .300 at the plate, garnering Second Team All-Conference and her second Gold Glove honor in two seasons from the NSIC. As a junior, Weinberger hit .345 during the regular season, tallying 51 hits in 148 at bats. Of her 51 hits, 16 were doubles, as she led the team and ranked sixth in the conference in the category, and just missed ranking in the top-10 in both batting average and total hits. At the conclusion of the NSIC Tournament, Weinberger appeared and started in 50 games for St. Cloud State, hitting .320 with 51 total hits, 16 doubles and three home runs.Â
Also like McFarlane, Weinberger proved to be one of the best defensive outfielders in the conference, as she did not commit a single error in right field until the postseason. In her 50 games, a handful of which were at first base, Weinberger posted a .978 fielding percentage, committing just two errors in 91 chances. Her performance earned her a second Gold Glove honor from the NSIC, as she became the first player in program history to earn All-Defensive Team honors in back-to-back seasons.Â
Academic All-District honorees are nominated for the prestigious award by their institutions' sports information directors/athletic communications representatives and are selected by the members of CoSIDA. McFarlane, Weinberger and their fellow Academic All-District selections advance to the ACademic All-America ballot, the winners of which will be announced in June.
