Buckeyes Wrap Up Outstanding Season Off the Field – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
June 20, 2016
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State softball team matched its outstanding 2016 season on the field — which was highlighted by an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament — with an equally successful effort in the classroom.
Academically, nine players were named to the Academic All-Big Ten squad, the third most of any softball program in the conference. They include: Shelby Hursh (English), Alex Bayne (communications), Becca Gavin (biology), Anna Kirk (sport industry), Erika Leonard (sociology), Maddie Marotti (sport industry), Maddy McIntyre (sport management M.S.), Jayla Saibene (physical education) and Bailee Sturgeon (sport industry). To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a letterwinner with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or better and be in at least their second year at their current school.
At the annual Scholar-Athlete banquet in March, 13 members of the program were recognized — Hursh, Bayne, Gavin, Kirk, Leonard, Marotti, McIntyre, Saibene, Sturgeon, Bri Betschel (exercise science education), Megan Choinacky (pharmaceutical sciences), Katya Duvall (exploration) and Morgan Ray (health professions/exploration). Bayne and Leonard were two of 147 current or former student-athletes who received degrees at spring semester commencement.
Additionally, McIntyre was a finalist for the Big Ten Medal of Honor, which is the conference’s most exclusive award and is given to recognize academic and athletic excellence.
As a whole, the Department of Athletes set two impressive records during the 2015-16 academic year — 561 scholar-athletes and 350 Academic All-Big Ten. The 187 student-athletes that made the spring list was also a Big Ten record.
