WKU Softball has been named to the Easton/NFCA Top 10 Academic Team ranking following the 2017 academic year. With a 3.569 cumulative GPA, the Hilltoppers ranked ninth among all Division I squads.
Upper Iowa University (NCAA DII) posted the top college GPA with a 3.813, while Byron Nelson (Texas) High School (4.916), for the fourth consecutive year, and Trenton (Mich.) High School (3.858) led the high school weighted and unweighted categories, respectively, as the Easton/NFCA Top 10 Academic Team rankings for the 2016-17 school year were announced.
The rankings recognize the academic prowess of softball teams across seven membership divisions. Garnering the highest GPA in the other college divisions were Western Carolina University (NCAA DI – 3.673), Newbury College (NCAA DIII – 3.675), Siena Heights University (NAIA – 3.780) and College of Southern Idaho (Junior College – 3.686). It marked the second straight year for Newberry and Siena Heights, while Southern Idaho returns to No. 1, a spot it held in 2014-15.
In Division I, Western Carolina was followed by Missouri State (3.648 GPA; 18-30 2017 record), Alabama (3.647; 47-17), Middle Tennessee (3.616; 19-30) and Sacred Heart (3.605; 23-28) to fill out the top five. Saint Louis (3.594; 25-25), Harvard (3.588; 22-19), Troy (3.585; 20-34), WKU (3.569; 31-31) and Kent State (3.568; 33-28) rounded out the honored teams.
WKU collected the third-most wins in 2017 of the squads ranked in the top-10 academically, posting a 31-31 record behind Alabama’s 47-17 slate and Kent State’s 33-28 mark.
(Courtesy WKU Athletics)