Softball earns Conference USA Sport Academic Award for fourth straight season

The Charlotte 49ers softball team once again has claimed the Conference USA Softball Academic Award. This honor is given to the team in each conference-sponsored sport with the highest GPA for the academic year.

With claiming the award for the 2017-18 season, the University’s softball team has won the honor for the fourth consecutive academic year.

During the academic year, the 49ers softball team compiled a 3.649 cumulative grade point average with nine of the 18 players on the roster achieving a perfect 4.0 in the spring semester.

“Excellence in the classroom is a strong component of our 49er softball culture,” remarked head softball coach Aimee DeVos.

Charlotte was bolstered by two Academic All-Americans in seniors Haley Pace and Bailey Rhoney.

Pace, a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, earned First-Team Academic All-American honors for the second-straight season in 2018. Pace was a three-time C-USA All-Academic selection and was the 2018 Provost Student-Athlete Award winner, a 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee, a Perfect Niner (4.0 for the semester) in each of her eight semesters, was on the Chancellor’s List in all eight semesters, the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll all four years and received the Conference USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal all four years.

Rhoney added her first Academic All-American merit, earning a spot on the second team. She was named to the Academic All-District 3 team for the first time in her 49ers career. Rhoney added accolades that included being a Perfect Niner, 2015-18; Chancellor’s List, 2015-18; and Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll, 2016-18.

Eleven of the 18 players earned the C-USA Commissioners Academic Medal in 2018 for posting a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or better. Sixteen players made the C-USA Commissioners Honor Roll for having a GPA of 3.0 or better.