O'Donnell Named CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year
After leading her team to a National Championship and earning First Team NJCAA All-American honors, Florida SouthWestern sophomore pitcher Alyssa O’Donnell has earned the pinnacle award of collegiate athletics as Monday she was named the 2020-2021 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year, marking her the top female student-athlete in the nation among College Division participants.
Austin, Texas- After leading her team to a National Championship and earning First Team NJCAA All-American honors, Florida SouthWestern sophomore pitcher Alyssa O'Donnell has earned the pinnacle award of collegiate athletics as Monday she was named the 2020-2021 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year, marking her the top female student-athlete in the nation among College Division participants.
O'Donnell had a perfect 4.00 GPA in her two seasons at Florida SouthWestern, earning her Associate of Arts while working towards her degree in Psychology. She was a two time member of the Suncoast Conference, FCSAA, and NJCAA All-Academic Teams. Next year she will attend and play for Long Island University.
On the field O'Donnell shined equally as brightly, going 23-1 with a 1.67 ERA during her sophomore campaign with the Bucs, earning First Team NJCAA All-American and NFCA Pitcher of the Year Honors while leading FSW to their first National Championship in school history. She ranked second in the NJCAA with a .958 winning percentage this season and her 1.67 ERA also ranked second among pitchers with at least 20 wins. She was instrumental in the Bucs run to the National Championship, starting 9 of 10 postseason contests including all five at the National Tournament while going 5-0 with a 1.76 in postseason play.
The CoSIDA College Division Academic All-America® Team is made up of student-athletes across the country from two-year institutions and any four-year institutions not affiliated with the NCAA or NAIA. The team is comprised of just five student-athletes that are voted on by CoSIDA members based on both their academic and athletic merit.
O'Donnell is just the second FSW student-athlete in school history to earn Academic All-America® honors, joining teammate Owen Bowers who earned the award in both 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.
Florida SouthWestern was the only school in the country this year to have multiple players named to the Women's All-America® Team.
2020-2021 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team
|
Sport |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
|
Softball |
Owen Bowers (1) |
Florida Southwestern State College |
So. |
3.94 |
Pre-Med |
|
Softball |
Rachel Cherubini |
Penn State Brandywine |
Sr. |
3.93 |
Psychology |
|
Volleyball |
Gracie LaForge |
Johnson County Community College |
So. |
3.85 |
Occupational Therapist |
|
Softball |
Florida Southwestern State College |
So. |
4.00 |
Psychology |
|
|
Softball |
Kat Wallace |
Jones College |
So. |
4.00 |
Math |
CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year: Alyssa O'Donnell, Florida Southwestern State College
(1) – CoSIDA Academic All-America® first-team selection in 2019-20