Each owning cumulative GPAs at 3.50 or better, eight Western Kentucky softball players were named NFCA All-America Scholar Athletes on Tuesday.

WKU’s honorees are Cassidy Blackford, Paige Carter, Taylor Childress, Kathryn Downing, Jordan Mauch, Morgan McElroy, Kelsey McGuffin and Taylor Proctor. In total, 7,351 softball players across the seven membership divisions earned honors for the 2016-17 academic year.

With eight honorees this year, half of the 2016-17 squad earned recognition.

The announcement comes one week after WKU softball was named one of the top 10 academic teams in the country last year as well. Owning a cumulative 3.569 team GPA, the Hilltoppers posted the ninth-best GPA of Division I programs across the nation last season. WKU had the third-most wins of those 10 teams with a 31-31 record a year ago.