Lehi Sports
Pioneer softball earns national academic honors
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The 2024-25 Lehi softball team has received All-America Scholar-Athlete Awards from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).
“This is a massive accomplishment,” said Pioneer Coach Tim Kennedy. “Lehi Softball had the 14th highest team GPA in the nation. We also had 14 of our 16 rostered girls with a GPA of 3.5 or higher.”
Sponsored by Easton, the individual awards are presented to varsity athletes who achieve a 3.5 or better GPA on a 4.0 scale.
Those who earned this accomplishment on last spring’s Lehi team included seniors Sophie Bliss and Makenzie Grose, juniors Brynlee Cook, Hadlie Hansen, Mya Maughan and Ashlyn Petersen, sophomores Liv Davies, Piper Emery, Addi Felix, Abbi Harroun, Brinlee Skidmore and Reese Taylor, plus freshmen Kolbi Beck and Allyx Navares.
The NFCA also recognizes the top 10 academic teams (by overall GPA) each fall through the Easton/NFCA Top 10 Academic Team program. The Pioneers missed that designation by 0.02 GPA points with their 3.86 combined average. Lehi was the only Utah school on the list.
According to the organization’s website, the NFCA is the professional growth organization for fastpitch softball coaches from all competitive levels of play and was established in 1983.
Numbering 40 members at the start, the group includes more than 7,000 today, with members from all 50 states and several other countries.
There are many services offered to the membership, highlighted by education, events, awards and networking opportunities. All-America teams, scholar-athlete accolades, coaching achievements, off-the-field contributions and scholarships make up a robust awards program. The national headquarters is located in Louisville, Ky. For more information, visit nfca.org.
