For the fifth consecutive year, the longest streak in the country, at least 10 Alabama athletes have been named to the Academic All-America list selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
UA’s total of 11 athletes on the list for 2017-18 also leads all NCAA Division I schools. Over that five-year span, no school has placed more athletes on the list than Alabama’s 56. Stanford’s 45 ranks second.
“Our commitment to excellence in all aspects of the collegiate experience serves as the foundation of our overall success at the University of Alabama,” UA Director of Athletics Greg Byrne said. “Our extraordinary record in terms of Academic All-America honors is a testament to the drive, determination and discipline of our student-athletes and the support provided by our coaches, faculty and staff. … That kind of sustained excellence is truly impressive.”
CoSIDA compiles individual lists for football, basketball, baseball, softball, track and field/cross country, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. It also puts together an at-large list that includes athletes from 14 women’s teams and 12 men’s teams.
Emma Welch (soccer) and Leah Lawrence (volleyball) were named to their respective teams in the fall. Bailey Hemphill (softball) and Josh Short (track and field/cross country) joined them in the spring.
Alabama’s seven at-large honorees were swimmers Laurent Bams, Robert Howard, Luke Kaliszak and Temarie Tomley, gymnast Mackenzie Brannan, tennis player Andie Daniell and golfer Kristen Gillman.
It was the third Academic All-America honor for Brannan, the second for Kaliszak and the first for the other nine athletes.
The 2017-18 school year was the 11th consecutive year that at least one softball player has been selected, the ninth straight year for track and field/cross country, the sixth straight for gymnastics and the fourth straight for women’s volleyball.
