Six Blue Softball Student-Athletes Earn 2017-18 NFCA Academic Honors

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Six members of the Wellesley College softball team have earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Easton / NFCA Scholar-Athlete honors for the 2017-18 academic year. 

The rankings and honors recognize the academic prowess of softball teams across the Association's membership categories. NCAA Division III led the way with 1,600 student-athletes earning a 3.5 grade-point average or higher for 2017-18. NCAA Division I and Division II followed with 1,311 and 1,026 honorees. High School weighted and High School unweighted earned 743 and 589 distinctions. Two-year colleges amassed 553 recipients and NAIA totaled 456. 

Wellesley's honorees included the entire Blue softball Class of 2018, as well as two members of the current junior class: 

• Zein Aburish '18
• Madeline Bianchi '18
• Julia Warner '18
• Amanda Manning '18
• Junior Autumn Brown (Marshfield, Mass.)
• Junior Kalei Oliver (Vista, Calif.)

Established in 1983, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) is the professional growth organization for fastpitch softball coaches from all competitive levels of play. The national office, located in the Crescent Hill community of Louisville, Ky., moved to the Bluegrass State in 2012.