ST. PAUL, Minn. – For the second year in a row, the Macalester College softball team recorded the highest team grade point average among all NCAA softball programs across all divisions, as the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced the Top 10 academic teams and Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar Athletes today. The Scots turned in a team GPA of 3.851 for the 2021-22 academic year.
Along with leading the nation for a second straight year, this is the third time Macalester has appeared in the Division III Top 10, as the 2016-17 squad ranked ninth with a team GPA of 3.600. The NFCA has been honoring Top 10 academic teams since the 2013-14 season.
Among all divisions, Macalester ranked first, followed by Rockhurst (3.817), Adelphi (3.800), Davenport (3.789), Mercyhurst (3.781) and Harvard (3.760).
Fifteen members of the 2022 Macalester softball team earned Easton/NFCA Division III All-American Scholar-Athlete honors, which require a grade point average of 3.5 or higher for the 2021-22 academic year. They are Class of 2022 graduates
Mackenzie Clarke (Redwood City, Calif./Sequoia) and
Anna Leidner (New York, N.Y./Bronx Science);
rising seniors
Emily Bergin (Houston, Texas/St. Thomas Episcopal School),
Regan Brodine (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny),
Jessica Katzin (Chicago, Ill./Jones College Prep) and
Gabriella Plisko (Alpharetta, Ga./The Galloway School); rising juniors
Elsa Church (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood),
Mandy Morrical (Mount Vernon, Iowa/Mount Vernon),
Emily Pedersen (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) and
Cheyenne Woerman (Oswego, Ill/Oswego); and rising sophomores
Dorri Amundson (San Francisco, Calif./The Bay School of San Francisco),
Sophie Futchko (Prince Frederick, Md./Huntingtown),
Madeleine Kemper (Sioux Falls, S.D./Lincoln),
Renee Nicholson (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) and
Kaitlyn Pistorius (Parker, Colo./Legend).
This year 7,527 student-athletes were honored with Scholar-Athlete status across high school, NCAA, NAIA and junior college institutions, including 2,227 Division III student-athletes.
