ST. LOUIS – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced Tuesday that the Saint Louis University softball team registered the ninth-highest grade point average among NCAA Division I programs for the 2020-21 academic year.
 
The Billikens' 3.707 GPA, which also led the Atlantic 10 Conference, is the highest during the 11-year tenure of head coach Christy Connoyer.
 
The top-10 ranking is Saint Louis' fourth in the last five years a top-10 GPA list has been announced (no NFCA awards were issued for the 2019-20 academic year due to COVID-19). The Billikens are one of only two Division I programs to place among the top 10 four times during that span.
 
In addition, 14 Billiken softball student-athletes earned NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete accolades. Recognition is given to individuals who achieve at least a 3.5 GPA (4.0 scale) for the entire academic year. Saint Louis' 14 honorees represent 82.4 percent of its roster, the highest mark among A-10 programs.
 
SLU's Scholar-Athlete honorees are Jocelyn Abbott, Alyssa Chavez, Maria Connell, Kelsey Etling, Aubrey Hacke, Allie Herron, Gabbie Kowalik, Kat Lane, Kaiya Luneckas, Kristi Stevenson, Calli Sutcliffe, Kayla Swiderski, Chloe Wendling and Sadie Wise.
 
"I'm very proud of our student-athletes and their commitment to academic excellence," Connoyer said. "In a year filled with varied teaching methods, such as remote learning, hybrid classes and in-person instruction, this team adjusted to the challenges and adapted to new ways of learning. They excelled amidst the adversity, achieving over a 3.7 team GPA.
 
"The support from professors, advisors, academic support staff, the athletics department and, ultimately, Saint Louis University leadership was absolutely incredible," Connoyer said. "We are so grateful to represent SLU on a national scale with this Academic Top 10 recognition."
 
Stanford led the nation with a 3.846 GPA, followed by Southern Illinois (3.806), Green Bay (3.794), Michigan State (3.784), Maine (3.774), Mount St. Mary's (3.737), Hartford (3.730), Toledo (3.708), Saint Louis (3.707) and Bowling Green (3.704).