
Five Softball Student-Athletes Earn CSC Academic All-District Team Honors
5/28/2024 1:21:00 PM | Softball, Office of Student-Athlete Success
GREENWOOD, Ind. – Five members of the University at Buffalo softball team have been named to the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District Softball Team, as announced by the organization on Tuesday afternoon.
Taking home the honors this year is fifth year Alexis Lucyshyn, seniors Madison Fernimen, Sara Kelly and Julia Tarantino, and sophomore Lyla Ambrose.
To be eligible for Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, and they must have reached sophomore athletic eligibility with at least one full calendar year completed at his/her current institution.
The 2024 Academic All-District Softball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes soccer honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Lucyshyn, who finished with a 3.60 GPA and graduated with a degree in exercise science, posted a .304 batting average with a team-high 45 hits. Starting in all 48 games for the Bulls, Lucyshyn led the way with 30 RBIs. She had 17 total extra base hits, 12 of which went for doubles and five for home runs. The Calgary, Alberta native had 13 multi-hit performances on the season. In the circle, Lucyshyn made 27 appearances, starting in 22. She struck out a career-high 163 batters in 145.0 innings of work. Her 82 strikeouts in conference play were the second most in the MAC. She had four double-digit strikeout performances, including a season-high 13 strikeouts against Wofford. Her 7.9 strikeouts per seven innings ranked second in the MAC and 43rd in the NCAA. On March 8, she threw the program's sixth no-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Winthrop. Her season earned her Second-Team All-MAC honors.
Fernimen, who graduated with a 3.80 GPA with a degree in psychology, started in all 48 games for the Bulls. She led the team with 45 hits along with Lucyshyn. She added 17 RBIs on the year and a team-leading 31 runs scored. Fernimen was second on the team in on base percentage at .380 to go along with her .357 slugging percentage. The third baseman posted a .923 fielding percentage.
Kelly, a public health graduate with a 3.63 GPA, started in all 48 games for the Bulls her senior year. The outfielder finished with a .231 batting average with 30 hits. She added eight doubles and one triple to go along with her 14 RBIs. Kelly came around to score 14 times on the year. She had 43 putouts in the outfield.
Tarantino finished her collegiate career with a 3.67 GPA while earning a degree in history. She finished the season with a 2.76 ERA in conference play for the Bulls, good for ninth in the MAC. The righty pitcher threw 10 complete games which ranked third among MAC pitchers. The North Bellmore, N.Y. native had a season-high eight strikeouts against the Western Michigan Broncos and at Canisius. Tarantino also allowed a season-low three hits twice on the season at Georgia Southern and Toledo. She took home Second-Team All-MAC honors.
Ambrose, who is a 4.0 student-athlete majoring in communications, appeared in 38 games with 38 starts. The catcher totaled nine hits including two doubles. She had a career-high three hits against Niagara and scored twice against Ball State.
Academic All-District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. Academic All-America honorees will be announced later this month.
For a full list of honorees, click here.
Taking home the honors this year is fifth year Alexis Lucyshyn, seniors Madison Fernimen, Sara Kelly and Julia Tarantino, and sophomore Lyla Ambrose.
To be eligible for Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, and they must have reached sophomore athletic eligibility with at least one full calendar year completed at his/her current institution.
The 2024 Academic All-District Softball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes soccer honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Lucyshyn, who finished with a 3.60 GPA and graduated with a degree in exercise science, posted a .304 batting average with a team-high 45 hits. Starting in all 48 games for the Bulls, Lucyshyn led the way with 30 RBIs. She had 17 total extra base hits, 12 of which went for doubles and five for home runs. The Calgary, Alberta native had 13 multi-hit performances on the season. In the circle, Lucyshyn made 27 appearances, starting in 22. She struck out a career-high 163 batters in 145.0 innings of work. Her 82 strikeouts in conference play were the second most in the MAC. She had four double-digit strikeout performances, including a season-high 13 strikeouts against Wofford. Her 7.9 strikeouts per seven innings ranked second in the MAC and 43rd in the NCAA. On March 8, she threw the program's sixth no-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Winthrop. Her season earned her Second-Team All-MAC honors.
Fernimen, who graduated with a 3.80 GPA with a degree in psychology, started in all 48 games for the Bulls. She led the team with 45 hits along with Lucyshyn. She added 17 RBIs on the year and a team-leading 31 runs scored. Fernimen was second on the team in on base percentage at .380 to go along with her .357 slugging percentage. The third baseman posted a .923 fielding percentage.
Kelly, a public health graduate with a 3.63 GPA, started in all 48 games for the Bulls her senior year. The outfielder finished with a .231 batting average with 30 hits. She added eight doubles and one triple to go along with her 14 RBIs. Kelly came around to score 14 times on the year. She had 43 putouts in the outfield.
Tarantino finished her collegiate career with a 3.67 GPA while earning a degree in history. She finished the season with a 2.76 ERA in conference play for the Bulls, good for ninth in the MAC. The righty pitcher threw 10 complete games which ranked third among MAC pitchers. The North Bellmore, N.Y. native had a season-high eight strikeouts against the Western Michigan Broncos and at Canisius. Tarantino also allowed a season-low three hits twice on the season at Georgia Southern and Toledo. She took home Second-Team All-MAC honors.
Ambrose, who is a 4.0 student-athlete majoring in communications, appeared in 38 games with 38 starts. The catcher totaled nine hits including two doubles. She had a career-high three hits against Niagara and scored twice against Ball State.
Academic All-District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. Academic All-America honorees will be announced later this month.
For a full list of honorees, click here.
Players Mentioned
UB Softball vs. Akron Double Header (4/30) @ 1pm
Thursday, April 24
UB Softball vs. Canisius Double Header (4/23) @ 1pm
Tuesday, April 22
UB Softball vs. Toledo (4/20) @ 12pm
Monday, April 14
UB Softball vs. Northern Illinois doubleheader (4/12) @ 1pm
Thursday, April 10