MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State softball student-athletes
Maddy Christopher and
Rylie Burney have each earned an Academic All-District award (as selected by the College Sports Communicators) for the second consecutive season.
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) began the distinguished Academic All-America® program in 1952, and since then, has honored thousands of deserving student-athletes from numerous sports across all divisions with these elite Academic All-America® scholar-athlete honors. In 2022, CoSIDA re-branded itself as the College Sports Communicators.
Currently, CSC sponsors Academic All-America® programs for men's soccer, women's soccer, football, tennis, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball, swimming and diving and men's and women's track and field/cross country. Many other sports are eligible through the At-Large program. In 2022, the guidelines were updated to include more representation on the All-District teams. Sports have limitations as to the number of athletes that can be nominated and the minimum grade-point average was raised to 3.50.
Christopher, a senior outfielder from Marengo, Ill., earned a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average in her major of criminology and criminal justice. During the 2026 season, she led Morehead State with a .371 batting average and set the program single-season record for singles with 60. Christopher started all 104 games she played in her three seasons at MSU and finished with the third-best career batting average (.355) in the program's long history.
Burney, also a criminology and criminal justice major, has a 3.82 GPA. The Kincaid, Ill., native finished her career with 65 appearances as an Eagle in two seasons and recorded 74 strikeouts.
Only three other softball student-athletes in program history have ever won consecutive academic all district awards (Becky King - 2005, 2006, 2007; Peyton Jordan - 2023, 2024;
Ilencia Lightbody - 2024, 2025).
