MARSHALL, Texas—Excellent academic standards remain a strong part of the East Texas Baptist University softball program, which was named a top-20 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Academic team. Along with that honor, ETBU had 20 student-athletes named NFCA Scholar-Athletes.
ETBU finished with a 3.733 grade point average, ranking it as the 18th best program in NCAA Division III. The team improved its GPA from 3.629 in 2023-24, raising its average by just over 0.10.
This is the ninth year in a row that student-athletes have been named to the NFCA Scholar-Athlete list and the seventh time that 10 or more have earned the award. The 20 student-athletes top the 17 from last year who were scholar-athletes.
Earlier this summer,
Mary Frances Ellis became ETBU's first three-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American and is a two-time American Southwest Conference Softball Distinguished Scholar-Athlete award winner. ETBU also had 21 student-athletes on the ASC All-Academic Team.
ETBU finished the year 43-5, won the NCAA Marshall, Texas Regional Tournament, was the ASC regular season and tournament champions, and was ranked 9th in the nation.
NFCA Scholar-Athletes
Emma Bell
Hannah Benavides
Tauryn Cummings
Larkin Daniels
Mary Frances Ellis
Braidee Glenn
Sydney Green
Avery Holland
Carley Johnson
Katelynn Jones
McKenzie Jones
Tristen Maddox
Madalyn Melton
Makayla Menchue
Izabella Morales
Mallory Pyle
Maci Shirley
Julia St. John
Aleyna St. Jean
Haylie Stum
NFCA Top 20 Team GPA
1 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 3.830
2 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges 3.827
3 Bates College 3.790
4 Middlebury College 3.785
5 Keuka College 3.775
6 Trine University 3.774
7 Johnson & Wales University 3.770
Wheaton College (MA) 3.770
9 Haverford College 3.769
10 Lancaster Bible College 3.767
11 Smith College 3.763
12 University of Chicago 3.751
13 St. Catherine University (MN) 3.745
14 Drew University 3.743
15 Simpson College (IA) 3.741
16 College of Saint Benedict 3.740
17 Tufts University 3.734
18 East Texas Baptist University 3.733
19 Stockton University 3.730
20 University of Pittsburgh, Bradford 3.728
