AUSTIN, TEXAS – North Carolina Central University senior second baseman Jenny Tracy has become the first female student-athlete to earn Academic All-America® honors in NCCU’s NCAA Division I era when she was selected as a First Team honoree to the 2016 Academic All-America® Division I softball team announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday.
“I am extremely proud and honored to know that the College Sports Information Directors of America is recognizing Jenny as one of best scholar-athletes in America,” said NCCU Director of Athletics Dr. Ingrid Wicker McCree. “It is a testimony to Jenny and her family’s dedication to her educational journey over the years. We are truly blessed to have been able to assist Jenny in achieving her goals of earning a degree and competing on the highest level in the NCAA. I know that Jenny will be successful in all of her future endeavors and she epitomizes what Chancellor Saunders-White deems as, Eagle Excellence.”
Tracy is the first Eagle to garner First Team distinction in the DI era (since 2007-08) as well. She is the lone student-athlete from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) to secure Academic All-America® laurels in any sport so far in 2015-16. Tracy and senior catcher Emily Naegele from Northern Illinois are the only two members of the First Team that did not play and study at a “Power Five” conference institution.
They joined Sara Driesenga (Michigan), Paige Parker (Oklahoma), Kasey Cooper (Auburn), Hannah Flippen (Utah), Mattie Fowler (Nebraska), Koral Costa (Oregon), Emily Crane (Missouri), Haylie McCleney (Alabama) and Kayli Kyistad (Florida) on the Academic All-America® softball first team.
Tracy graduated from NCCU on May 14 with a perfect 4.0 grade point average with a bachelor’s degree in business. The 2016 valedictorian has piled up numerous academic awards in her four years at NCCU, including the Chancellor’s Award for being the female student-athlete with the highest overall grade point average. Other academic awards and accomplishments for Tracy include MEAC Commissioner's All-Academic Team (x2), School of Business Dean’s Award, Department of Business Administration Marketing Award, member of the University Honors Program, Chancellor’s Scholar, Thurgood Marshall Institute Scholar and President of the NCCU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
The four-year letter winner had her healthiest season on the field as a senior. Tracy started all 49 games in 2016 and led the Lady Eagles with five home runs. The second baseman boasted a final .307 batting average and ranked second on the squad with 42 hits, 18 RBI, seven doubles and six sacrifice bunts.
Tracy was presented two softball team awards at the 2016 Eddies, earning the team academic award and the player’s choice award.
In her career, Tracy played 128 games for the Maroon and Gray despite suffering season-ending injuries in both her freshman and junior seasons. Tracy accumulated 91 hits, 42 RBI, 39 runs, 13 doubles, eight home runs, one triple and four stolen bases over that time.
The La Grande, Oregon, product already has a job lined up in Texas with Shell.
The CoSIDA Academic All-America® program recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.