Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes surpass a record 8,000; Top-10 team GPAs announced

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —Over 8,000 student-athletes (8,161), a first in NFCA history, were named 2019 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes, the Association announced on Wednesday afternoon. Missouri Baptist University (NAIA) captured the top team GPA amongst college programs, while Frankfort Community High School (Ill.) and Santa Gertrudis Academy (Texas) posted the top marks in the weighted and unweighted high school categories in the Easton/NFCA Top 10 Academic Team rankings for the 2018-19 school year. 

Under the guidance of Kenneth Messer-Brooks, the Spartans posted a 3.79 GPA in the classroom. Last year's top NAIA program, Spring Arbor, posted another strong showing in second with a 3.73 GPA. Jim Piersol's Redbirds and Thomas De Los Santos' Lions led the way with 4.60 and 3.986 GPAs, respectively. Byron Nelson, which had owned the highest weighted GPA the last five seasons, came in at No. 2 with a 4.486 in 2018-19.

Ann Pierson's Grand Canyon University (3.76) squad is your top NCAA Division I program for the second straight year and third time in the last five. Dawn Stearns' University of Bridgeport program bested NCAA Division II with a 3.776 GPA, while Greenville University (Buddy Foster) and Johnson & Wales University (Kim Camara Harvey) shared the honors with a 3.78 GPA in NCAA Division III. College of the Sequoias (Cal JC), under the direction of Michelle Bolt, led all two-year institutions with a 3.76 GPA. 

The rankings and honors recognize the academic prowess of softball teams across the Association's membership categories. NCAA Division III led the way with 1,928 student-athletes earning a 3.5 grade-point average or higher for 2018-19. NCAA Division I and Division II followed with 1,769 and 1,306 honorees. High School weighted and High School unweighted earned 1,225 and 793 distinctions. NAIA and two-year programs each amassed 570 recipients.

Easton/NFCA All-American Scholar-Athletes

  NCAA DI
NCAA DII
NCAA DIII
NAIA
Two-Year
High School Weighted
High School Unweighted

Easton/NFCA Top 10 Team GPA

NCAA Division I  
1. Grand Canyon – 3.760; 2. Southern Illinois - 3.723; 3. Houston - 3.719; 4. Southeast Missouri - 3.678; 5. Robert Morris - 3.659; 6. Saint Louis - 3.653; 7. SIUE - 3.651; 8. Manhattan - 3.630; 9. Murray State - 3.612; 10. Mount St. Mary's - 3.605.

NCAA Division II  
1. Bridgeport - 3.776; 2. Eastern New Mexico - 3.717; 3. Rockhurst - 3.695; 4. Davenport - 3.690; 5. Auburn-Montgomery - 3.686; 6. McKendree - 3.668; 7. Gannon - 3.656; 8. Arkansas-Monticello - 3.640; 9. Adelphi - 3.633; 10. University of Sciences - 3.630.

NCAA Division III  
t1. Greenville - 3.780; t1. Johnson & Wales - 3.780; 3. Wisconsin-Whitewater - 3.700; t4. Amherst - 3.680; t4. Simpson - 3.680; 6. Principia - 3.678; 7. Endicott - 3.662; 8. Stevens Tech - 3.632; 9. MIT - 3.630; 10. Kean - 3.628.

NAIA  
1. Missouri Baptist - 3.790; 2. Spring Arbor - 3.730; 3. William Woods - 3.627; 4. Freed-Hardeman - 3.621; 5. Indiana Wesleyan - 3.558; 6. USCB - 3.530; 7. Central Methodist - 3.524; 8. Grand View - 3.520; 9. Columbia College - 3.506; 10. Lawrence Tech - 3.500.

Two-Year Colleges  
1. College of the Sequoias - 3.760; 2. Butler CC - 3.650; 3. College of Southern Idaho - 3.628; 4. Clarendon College - 3.600;  5. Kansas City Kansas CC - 3.590; 6. North Iowa Area CC - 3.570; 7. Big Bend CC - 3.565; 8. Yavapai College - 3.537;  9. Lansing CC - 3.525; 10. Iowa Western CC - 3.510.

High School (Unweighted)
1. Santa Gertrudis Academy (Texas) - 3.986; 2. Southlake Carroll Senior (Texas) - 3.957; 3. Saint Thomas Aquinas (Kan.) - 3.948; 4. Frankfort (Mich.) - 3.898; 5. Loogootee Community (Ind.) - 3.843; 6. Silver Lake (Kan.) - 3.826; 7. Piedmont (Okla.) - 3.824; 8. Rochester Adams (Mich.) - 3.799; 9. Fauquier (Va.). - 3.795; 10. East Islip (N.Y.) - 3.791.

High School (Weighted)  
1. Frankfort Community (Ill.) - 4.600; 2. Byron Nelson (Texas) - 4.486; 3. Eaton (Texas) - 4.466; 4. James F. Byrnes (S.C.) - 4.426;  5. Flower Mound (Texas) - 4.302; 6. Grapevine (Texas) - 4.290; 7. Holly Hill Academy (S.C.) - 4.265; 8. Bishop Denis J. O'Connell (Va.) - 4.210; 9. River Hill (Md.) - 4.190; 10. Joliet Catholic Academy (Ill.) - 4.172.