4 Charlotte Athletics Programs Earn Academic Excellence Awards
Four Charlotte athletics programs earned the American Athletic Conference Team Academic Excellence Award, the league office announced Thursday afternoon. The Niners’ women’s basketball, women’s soccer, softball, and volleyball programs were recognized with the award for having the highest team GPA in the conference.
In addition, Charlotte had 259 student-athletes named to the American Conference All-Academic Team, the fifth-most in the conference and second-most among the league’s newcomers.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The women’s basketball program posted a 3.57 GPA during the 2023-24 academic year, including their highest semester GPA in team history in the fall. Four players were tabbed to the CSC Academic All-District Team in Jacee Busick, Olivia Porter, Tracey Hueston, and Dazia Lawrence.
Lawrence earned a 4.00 GPA and completed the Entrepreneurship & Innovation graduate certificate program. She was named the 2023-24 American Conference Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
CLT women’s soccer boasted an impressive 3.81 team GPA. Thirty players made the Athletic Director’s List while six were tabbed to the Academic All-District squad. Among them was graduate student Charlotte Harris, who had a 4.00 GPA as a major in criminal justice and will return in the fall to complete a second major in sociology.
Fifteen players also had perfect 4.00 GPAs in the spring term.
SOFTBALL
The softball team had one of their best years in the classroom in recent memory. The Diamond Niners posted a 3.67 team GPA for the spring of 2024, the highest since the fall of 2018. Twenty-three players made the AD’s List, while five made the dean’s list, 11 were named to the Chancellor’s List, and eight had a 4.00 GPA.
Five players were named to the Academic All-District Team, including RHP Georgeanna Barefoot, who was tabbed a Third Team Academic All-American. She became the ninth player in program history to earn national academic honors.
VOLLEYBALL
The volleyball team had a 3.68 GPA for the year. Thirteen student-athletes were named to the Athletic Director’s List, four were named to the Dean’s List, and five had perfect GPA’s. Additionally, four players — Lara Kretschmer, Annika Thompson, Sydney Baham, and Annika Wetterstrom — earned Academic All-District honors.
Kretschmer, a senior from Berlin, Germany, had a 4.0 perfect GPA in mathematics for business and a graduate certificate in data science and business analytics. She was nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, which is given to a graduating female student-athlete that displays academic and athletic excellence, community service, and leadership.
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
The Niners had 259 academic all-conference performers in the classroom. To qualify for the All-Academic Team, student-athletes must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 for the year with a minimum of 18 semester credits.