By: Alabama Sports Information
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama softball was the No. 1 ranked program in the nation last season by team grade point average the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) announced recently. The Crimson Tide earned a 3.69 team GPA last season and was the only Southeastern Conference team ranked in the top 10 nationally.
“What a great tribute to 19 outstanding student-athletes,” UA head coach Patrick Murphy said. “This team proved you can excel at the highest level both in the classroom and on the field. The two can go together.”
The 2013 season marked the third year in a row Alabama has ranked in the NFCA top 10 Top 10 by team GPA. The Tide also had 15 players named to the SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll, the most in the SEC. The Tide also placed four freshmen on the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll.
“All 19 players on last year’s squad earned a place on the SEC Academic Honor Roll,” Murphy said. “We also had 13 earn NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete honors and two who took home CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. It was the best academic team we have had in my 18 years at Alabama.”
Alabama had two players earn a place on the prestigious Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American team. 2013 senior Kayla Braud earned the honor for the third time in her career, becoming the first member of the Crimson Tide to earn first team honors all three seasons they were eligible for the award. She posted a 3.78 GPA. Senior Kaila Hunt (3.84) earned second team recognition.
The NFCA Academic Awards program honors both collegiate and high school teams for their submitted GPAs for the 2012-13 academic year. As a second component of the program, all submitted student-athletes who achieved a 3.50 GPA during last academic year are named as a NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete. The individual honorees will be announced at a later date on NFCA.org.
NFCA NCAA Division I Ranking by Team GPA 1. University of Alabama – 3.69 2. Kent State University – 3.666 3. Murray State University – 3.569 4. Robert Morris University – 3.561 5. University of Northern Colorado – 3.558 6. Southern Illinois University – 3.535 7. University of Nebraska Omaha – 3. 534 8. University of Houston – 3.530 9. University of Tennessee at Martin – 3.500 10. University of South Dakota – 3.480
