GREENWOOD, Ind. -- The College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced its Division III NCAA Softball Academic All-Americans on Tuesday, and a quartet of Southern Conference Athletic Conference (SCAC) student-athletes earned recognition.
Texas Lutheran University seniors Taylor Vannett and Serena Gonzalez were named to the Second Team, while LeTourneau University senior Maddie Flanery and TLU senior Katelyn Howard secured Third Team honors.
CSC, formerly known as CoSIDA, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes softball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. The Academic All-America teams are voted on by athletics communications personnel from across the country.
The SCAC accounted for four of the 33 (12.1%) Division III athletes honored to the prestigious CSC All-American team. Six of the 33 members of the Academic All-America® Division III softball teams claim a perfect 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate work or graduate courses. The 11 members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.91, with the entire Division III team retaining a collective average GPA of 3.87.
TLU’s Vannett graduated with a 3.96 GPA to earn her degree in Kinesiology (Rehab Science) with a minor in biology and was named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Second Team All-American. The Kingwood native was spectacular behind the plate as the Bulldogs everyday catcher, finishing with a .994 fielding percentage (145 putouts, 19 assists, nine runners caught stealing, one error). She was also an All-SCAC First Team and NFCA West Region Second Team selection. For the season, she hit .438 with 33 runs, 60 hits, 17 doubles, a triple, three homers, 66 RBIs and 11 walks. Vannett set the TLU and SCAC records for single-season RBI to cap her career year.
Gonzalez graduated with a 3.62 grade point average (GPA) to earn her degree in Kinesiology (Exercise Science) along with a minor in psychology. Gonzalez becomes the sixth Bulldog in program history to earn multiple Academic All-American honors after being named a Second Team Academic All-American last season. The senior designated player/first baseman was an All-SCAC First Team honoree for the third time in her career and was named NFCA All-West Region Second Team, hitting .424 with seven home runs, 54 RBI, 20 runs, 12 doubles, and 17 walks in 2026. Gonzalez concludes her career as TLU's all-time leader in RBI (188), home runs (32), and slugging percentage (.695).
Howard dominated in the circle during her final campaign with the Bulldogs. The right-hander went 22-2 with a 1.03 ERA and totaled a career-high 91 strikeouts over 149.0 innings pitched. A First-team All-American for the first time in her career, she was also named SCAC Pitcher of the Year and NFCA West Region First Team. Howard graduated with a 3.62 GPA to earn her degree in Kinesiology (Exercise Science) with a minor in psychology. After earning a win in her first 28 career decisions, Howard leaves the TLU softball program with a career 33-2 (.943) record, the highest winning percentage in program history.
The Bulldog trio brings TLU Softball's all-time total to 24 CSC/CoSIDA Academic All-American honors. A total of 23 of the 24 honorees have come during head coach Wade Wilson's tenure. Texas Lutheran now has 64 Academic All-Americans in school history with 24 coming from TLU Softball. TLU is one of six programs at the Division III level to have multiple honorees this season and tied Virginia Wesleyan for the most honorees with three.
LeTourneau’s Flanery, a senior from Tyler, Texas, became a three-time CSC Academic All-District selection and a three-time all-conference honoree this season. The senior collected All-SCAC second team after batting a career-high .402 with a .503 on-base percentage, a program season record 45 runs scored, and 24 walks. She swiped 41 bases on the year to end her career with a program record 151 steals and also set a program career record with 134 runs scored. Her 16 multi-hit games ranked second on the team on the year.
Flanery was the SCAC Elite 19 Award winner in 2026 and is a four-time conference all-academic selection. She graduated in May with her degree in kinesiology and earned NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete last season.
Flanery becomes the first player in program history to earn the distinguished honor, and just the 11th selection in LeTourneau athletics history.
To be eligible for the CSC Academic All-America® program students must have a 3.50 cumulative GPA, be a significant contributor to the team (position players must have played in 90 percent of the team's games or started in 66 percent, while pitchers must have appeared in 17 games or thrown 35 innings), and be at least a sophomore academically. Teams are limited to five nominees in the sport of softball
To view the complete CSC Academic All-American Softball Team, click here.
