LOUISVILLE, Ky. – 13 members of the Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team were honored for excellence in the classroom as they were named 2015-16 Easton/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Scholar-Athletes. The honor was given to student-athletes with a grade point average at or above 3.5. A&M-Commerce was one of only 14 Division II schools with at least 13 honorees. There were a total of 963 student-athlete honorees from Division II programs.
 
"It certainly makes me proud," said A&M-Commerce head coach Richie Bruister. "Our players are going to be professionals in something other than their sport so academics is a major component for us. We pride ourselves in that. One of our goals is to be the best on the field—to win a national championship—and be number one academically as a team as well."
 
A&M-Commerce's athletic mission is to be "Best in Class" and Bruister has seen his team take pride in their work on the field and in the classroom. It isn't just a slogan, but something his team works diligently every day to achieve.
 
"I'm proud to say that I am their coach with the hard work they put in every day," Bruister said of his players. "We have a great thing going here. As our athletic director Tim McMurray says, we are focused on being 'Best in Class.' That's certainly what we have here—not only on the field but even more importantly in the classroom."
 
The Lions had a cumulative team GPA of 3.467, which ranked them 26th in the nation in Division II out of 78 qualifying programs. They ranked first in the Lone Star Conference and first in the South Central Region. Bruister said that not only is it his goal and the goal of his staff to excel in academics, but it's also the goal of his players.
 
"It's a standard of excellence," he said. "Our team takes pride in trying to be a top 10 academic team. They push each other to be the best. They know what it means to come here and to graduate in four years or some in even less time. I'm very proud of what they have achieved in the classroom."
 
As Bruister enters his third season as head coach, he said the tradition of academic excellence was something very important to his first signee, Luci Ponce, the first recruit of the newly established program. Bruister said it was something she wanted to represent as a student athlete at A&M-Commerce and her example to teammates has left a lasting impression on the program that has continued on.
 
"That's why our recruits sign with us," Bruister said. "It makes parents happy to know they have a coach that cares about their child's classwork and having them graduate. This world is tough and highly competitive. We are going to teach our girls how to compete on the field, which in turn helps them out in life. That's what it's all about."
 
The NFCA rankings and honors recognize the academic prowess of softball teams across seven membership divisions. Individually 5,152 softball players earned Easton / NFCA Scholar-Athlete honors. NCAA Division I, with 1,240 honorees, had the most student-athletes with a 3.5 grade point average or higher, while 1,124 in Division III earned recognition. NAIA amassed 384 recipients and Junior College totaled 311.
 

Easton Scholar-Athletes	Class	Hometown
Ellysse Boughey	So.	Little Elm, Texas
Monica Cherry	Jr.	Forney, Texas
Katie Dean	So.	Whitesboro, Texas
Danielle Guerra	Gr.	Vernon, Texas
Kylene Hatton	Sr.	Simi Valley, Calif.
Baylea Higgs	Jr.	Arlington, Texas
Anna Hitt	Sr.	Gig Harbor, Wash.
Cherie Jackson	Jr.	Carrollton, Texas
Kayla Kilcrease	So.	Kerens, Texas
Ciera Nunez	So.	Amarillo, Texas
Tyler Oppenheim	Jr.	Marble Falls, Texas
Selena Rima	Jr.	Spokane, Wash.
Brittany Woolridge	So.	Tucson, Ariz.