BATON ROUGE — Three members of the second-ranked LSU softball team were named to the District VI Academic All-District First Team on Thursday, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Pitcher Kristin Schmidt, catcher Leigh Ann Danos and first baseman Stephanie Hill all earned first team honors, marking the first time the Tigers placed three members on the Academic All-District team in the program’s history.
LSU is the only program to have three players selected to the first team and was one of three teams with three players honored overall. Mississippi State placed two on the first team and three overall, while Texas State placed one on the first team and three overall.
Schmidt is a senior in political science and carries a 3.513 cumulative grade point average. The first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection will graduated this May and attend LSU Law School this fall. This is the second year she earned all-district honors, after being named to the second team last season.
A junior from Lafayette, Danos carries a 3.531 cumulative grade point average in biology. The second-team All-SEC selection plans to attend medical school following graduation. This is also her second consecutive season being named to the all-district season, after also earning second team honors in 2003.
Hill is business major that carries a team-best 3.805 cumulative grade point average. While a junior academically, she is a sophomore eligibility wise after not playing her first year at LSU. Hill also plans to attend law school following graduation next year.
All three players will now be added to the Academic All-America ballot, and the team will be announced on June 3.
FIRST TEAM
Pos. Name School Year GPA Major
P Brooke Mitchell UL-Lafayette Jr. 3.518 Business Finance
P Kristin Schmidt LSU Sr. 3.513 Political Science
C Leigh Ann Danos LSU Jr. 3.531 Biology
IF Katie Evans Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Sr. 3.89 Kinesiology
IF Stephanie Hill LSU So. 3.805 Business
IF Kate Jaspers Mississippi State Sr. 4.00 Psychology
IF Kim Wilmoth Baylor Jr. 3.97 Accounting
OF Auriel Jenkins Southern Miss Sr. 3.45 Coaching & Sports Administration
OF Iyhia McMichael Mississippi State Sr. 3.24 General Business Administration
OF Kristen Zaleski Texas State Sr. 3.47 Criminal Justice
DP Janis Kelley Centenary Jr. 3.39 Health & Exercise Science
SECOND TEAM
Pos. Name School Year GPA Major
P Katie Ann Trahan Texas State So. 3.77 Undeclared
P Cristin Vitek Baylor Jr. 3.34 Accounting
C Shelly Sleep Sam Houston State Sr. 3.90 Criminal Justice
IF Charity Butler Southern Miss So. 4.00 Business Administration
IF Jessica Rogers Texas-San Antonio So. 3.84 Kinesiology
IF Leslie Sharp Texas State Jr. 3.89 Political Science/Mass Comm.
IF Chez Sievers Texas So. 3.25 Communication Studies
OF Melanie Jarrett Texas Jr. 4.00 Journalism
OF Meagan O’Nan Mississippi State Sr. 3.66 Educational Psychology
OF Kelly Rhyne Texas Tech Jr. 3.78 Exercise & Sport Science
DP Holly Reynolds Tulsa Jr. 3.26 Marketing