AUSTIN, Texas --- Five Tusculum University student-athletes have been named to the 2025 NCAA Division II Softball Academic All-District® 3 first team as selected by the College Sports Communicators.
Earning Academic All-District® distinction are: Brooke Smith, Danielle Jason, Ellie Alvarez, Sammy Jimenez and Natalie Spaitis.
The 2025 Academic All-District® Softball Team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the softball diamond and in the classroom.
District 3 is comprised of colleges and universities representing the South Atlantic Conference, Peach Belt Conference and Conference Carolinas. To be eligible, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher and must be at least a sophomore. For position players, nominees must have competed in at least 90 percent of their team's games played or have started in at least 66 percent of the total number of team games played. For pitchers, nominees must pitch 25-plus innings or appear in 17 contests as a pitcher. Each school is limited a maximum of five (5) nominations per team.
Smith, a sophomore second baseman from Acworth, Georgia, has a 3.92 GPA while majoring in exercise science. She is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Dean's List, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List, President's List and the Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll. In 2024, she was named an Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete.
In 2025, Smith earned NFCA All-America third team at-large laurels and finished tops in the league with 85 hits (T8th in NCAA II). The 2025 consensus All-Region and All-SAC second team choice led the Pioneers with her .455 batting average which ranks second in the SAC and 15th in the nation. Her average is also the fifth-highest in a Tusculum season. She scored 60 runs which are second in the conference (19th in NCAA II) and third-most in the TU record book. She led the team with her 10 times being hit by pitch which are tied for the third-most ever by a Pioneer. Her .512 on-base percentage is fourth in the Tusculum record book and second this year in the conference and 32nd in Division II. She finished the year with 30 stolen bases (2nd in SAC / 40th in NCAA II) in 32 attempts giving her a .938 stolen base percentage (2nd in SAC / 26th in NCAA II).
During her 107-game career, Smith has a stellar .428 batting average (2nd in TU history) with 148 hits including a dozen doubles, six triples, two home runs and 53 RBI. She has amassed 43 stolen bases (8th in TU history), 101 runs scored, and a .484 on-base percentage (2nd in TU history).
Jason, a graduate student from Olyphant, Pennsylvania, returns to the CSC Academic All-District® team for a second straight season. She recorded a 3.95 GPA as an undergraduate and finished with a 4.00 GPA during her graduate studies in sport management finishing with high honors. She is a member of the President's List, SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Dean's List, Athletic Director's Honor Roll and the Charles Oliver Gray Honors List. Last year, she was the recipient of the Division II Athletic Directors Association (D2ADA) Academic Achievement Award.
Jason was named to the NFCA All-America first team this past spring as she established seven Tusculum single-game, season and career records. She led the league in hits (85 – T8th in NCAA II), runs scored (62 – 10th in NCAA II) and stolen bases (48 – 4th in NCAA II), all TU records. Her .452 batting average was fourth in the conference and 18th nationally, while her average was also tied for the sixth-best in Tusculum single-season history. She finished fourth in the conference with her .510 on-base percentage (37th in NCAA II – 5th in TU history) while her 0.21 sacrifice bunt average is second in the SAC and 22nd in the country.
Jason finished her career as Tusculum's all-time leader in batting average (.437), on-base percentage (.499) and stolen bases (72). During her 106 games with the Pioneers, she totaled 142 hits including 12 doubles, four triples and two home runs. She also tallied 37 career walks and scored 102 runs.
Alvarez, a junior shortstop from Plano, Illinois, garners Academic All-District® honors for a second straight season. She is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, President's List, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List, Dean's List and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll. She was also named a 2024 recipient of the D2ADA Academic Achievement Award.
Alvarez earned a spot on the All-SAC third team for a second straight campaign while starting in all 57 contests. She finished third on the roster with her .394 batting average (11th in SAC) which included 74 hits including a dozen doubles, three home runs and a team-leading four triples. She went 27-of-28 in stolen bases which ranked her third on the team and the conference. She led the team with 83 fielding assists and scored 53 runs.
During her 109-game career at Tusculum, Alvarez has a .393 batting average which is the eighth-highest in program history. Her career on-base percentage of .441 and slugging percentage of .595 are listed third and fourth, respectively in the TU record book. She has amassed 134 career hits including 23 doubles, five triple and 12 home runs to go along with 62 RBI. Her 40 stolen bases are the 10th-most by a Pioneer.
Jimenez, a junior catcher from Bartlett, Illinois, posted a 3.92 GPA as an elementary education major. She is a member of the Athletic Director's Honor Roll, President's List, Dean's List, SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Charles Oliver Gray Honors List. She is a two-time NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete (2023, 2024) and returns to the CSC Academic All-District® team for a second consecutive year.
Jimenez was named to the All-SAC third team leading the Pioneers with her 54 RBI (7th in SAC / 43rd in NCAA II). She batted .331 and totaled 51 hits including 12 doubles, one triple and tied for the team lead with six home runs. She led TU with 22 walks 203 putouts and scored 47 runs in her 55 total games with 51 starts.
Jimenez has played in 155 career games where she is batting .320 with a .585 slugging percentage (6th in TU history) and a .405 on-base percentage. She has totaled 139 hits with 23 doubles, seven triples and 26 home runs which are the third-most in program history and four off matching the TU record 30 set by Anna Alloway (2018-2022).
Spaitis, a sophomore pitcher from Schaumburg, Illinois, has a perfect 4.00 GPA while majoring in sport science. She is a member of the Athletic Director's Honor Roll, SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Dean's List, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List and the President's List. She was named an NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete as a freshman in 2024.
Spaitis played in 34 games in the circle with 11 starts where she posted an 8-5 record and led the conference with five saves (12th in NCAA II). She recorded 61 strikeouts in her 101.2 innings of work where she accounted for two complete games including a shutout.
Her nine career saves are tied for the most in program history. She has a 13-7 record in her 61 appearances with three complete games and 126 strikeouts.
Tusculum finished the season with a 37-18 record and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. TU's 37 wins are the most as a NCAA II member and ranks seventh overall in TU history.
The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes softball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced next month.
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2024-2025 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs.
