Campus News

Kentucky Softball Wins Easton/NFCA Team GPA Award

Wildcats win national academic award, photo courtesy of UK Athletics.
Wildcats win national academic award. Photo courtesy of UK Athletics.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 9, 2019) — Kentucky Softball, not only known for its success on the field under Rachel Lawson, but off the field as well in the classroom, continued its impressive run as it was announced they were a recipient of the Easton/NFCA Team GPA Award. The award is given to college softball teams who achieve a 3.0 team GPA or higher.

The Wildcats finished with the third-highest GPA in the country of any team that made the NCAA Super Regional round and the second-highest GPA in the Southeastern Conference for the 2019 season. The yearlong GPA for the Wildcats was a 3.443.

A total of 13 individuals for Kentucky were named as a 2018-19 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete — including returners for 2020, Renee Abernathy, Grace Baalman, Jaci Babbs, Autumn Humes, Alex Martens, Mallory Peyton, Tatum Spangler and Bailey Vick. Graduating seniors Katie Reed, Abbey Cheek and Jenny Schaper were also honored. The total of 13 players was the most of any team in the SEC.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.