DETROIT -- The Wayne State University softball squad ranked 21st nationally out of 279 (top eight percent) NCAA Division II softball programs with a 3.651 team GPA for the 2023-24 academic year.

In addition, twelve (12) members of the squad received Easton NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete recognition for recording at least a 3.50 GPA for the Fall 2023 and Winter 2024 semesters combined.

"Our program is extremely proud of our softball student athletes for their success in the classroom," commented Tines.  "We are so proud of our team's hard work and the recognition our program has received nationally.  Our staff sees the work our players put in day to day with their studies and we are thrilled for our program and our players who have received individual recognition.  Academics is one of the pillars within our department we strive to uphold, and we will continue to set the bar high.  I have no doubt that our athletes will push each other to continue on this path of academic success.  Our program would like to thank our athletic department, specifically for our new Academic Recourse Center and of course our academic support staff (Kim Clexton and her team) for the continued guidance, support and dedication she and the department have shown our student-athletes here at WSU."

Those honored by the NFCA (alphabetically) were:

Sophomore Hayden Batton, Early & Elementary Education
Senior Alexis Bonk, Psychology
Sophomore Sasha Buckberger, Civil Engineering
Freshman Logan Forman, Exercise and Sport Science
Junior Lauren Fritz, Social Work
Graduate Student Becky Hodder, master's in Exercise and Sport Science 
Freshman Mia Hool, Sport Management
Freshman Molly Hool, Accounting
Senior Kiley Lewandowski, Political Science (Pre-Law)
Freshman Sydney Long, Exploratory Life Sciences
Junior Madison Martinez, Biological Sciences
Senior Shelby Miller, Marketing