Kalyn Harker named first-team Academic All-American
05/29/2015 | 12:00:00 | Softball
Southern Illinois senior outfielder Kalyn Harker earned first-team Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America, the organization announced Friday. Harker led SIU with a .361 batting average and maintained a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA throughout her collegiate career.
Harker's honor is the 24th Academic All-America honor earned by members of the Saluki Softball program and 12th under head coach Kerri Blaylock. Her first-team honor is the 13th in program history, and she is SIU's first Academic All-American since Mallory Duran-Sellers earned the honor in 2012. Saluki Softball's 24 Academic All-America honors ranks second in NCAA history, trailing only Nebraska (29).
Harker led the MVC in batting average against league foes with a .466 average, 34 points higher than anyone else in the conference. After the 2015 season, she earned first-team All-MVC, MVC All-Tournament team, first-team MVC Scholar-Athlete and first-team Academic All-District honors. In her career, Harker was a three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete selection and two-time All-MVC performer. She is just the second player in program history to compile both 30+ career doubles and 40+ career stolen bases.
Harker was one of 11 Division I softball players to earn first-team honors, and she was one of four players on that list with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
To be eligible, players must have been in their second year at an institution with at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA and have earned first-team Academic All-District honors.
