St. James softball named No. 9 academic program nationally by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association

For the second straight year, the St. James softball team wasn’t just loaded with a couple above-average students.

The Sharks’ roster was full of them.

Led by 14 players who had grade-point averages of at least a 3.5, Adam Jones’ 2014-2015 team was named the No. 9 academic program nationally by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. It’s up three spots from the 2013-2014 ranking.

“Being nationally ranked for academics sets the tone for our season in terms of expectations and commitment,” Jones said. “Doing it two consecutive years shows that our girls really understand what it means to be a student-athlete at St. James.”

As a team, St. James held a GPA of 3.946 weighted, which includes extra points for Advanced Placement classes. The 14 players who earned Scholar-Athlete All-American status were departed players Noel Cassidy, Morgan Marlow, Rebecca Israel, Bri Cacace and Hannah Gilbert, as well as returners Dominique Gross, Ali Valcourt, Kelsi Bachmann, Remi Hargrove, Sydney Cook, Shelby Spaziani, Gracie Centracchio, Kelsey Gollie and Skye Bailey.

This story was originally published November 16, 2015 at 4:39 PM with the headline "St. James softball named No. 9 academic program nationally by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association."