Record number of FSU athletes selected to ACC honor roll

The following is a press release via FSU Sports Info

A school-record 312 Florida State student-athletes have been named to the 2020-21 ACC Academic Honor Roll. The Spring 2021 semester saw a total of 333 student-athletes earn a 3.0 grade point average or higher, 125 earn Dean’s List honors (3.5 GPA or better), and 43 earn President’s List honors (4.0 GPA).

The women’s cross country team led the way with a 3.737 cumulative GPA (highest among all teams) while the men’s tennis team achieved a 3.341 cumulative GPA (highest among all men’s teams) with 14 of 18 teams achieving a team GPA of 3.0 or better.

Spring 20021 saw unprecedented academic success for the Seminoles’ 503 student-athletes with a cumulative 3.260 GPA among the entire group – the highest department semester GPA for a non-pandemic term. Over 60 percent of Florida State’s student-athlete population were named to the 2021 ACC Academic Honor Roll.

“I appreciate the emphasis our coaches place on their student-athletes performing well in the classroom,” said Florida State Director of Athletics David Coburn. “That is always a primary goal for everyone in this department. These outstanding achievements are due to the hard work of the student-athletes and our exceptional academic support staff. We are proud of all of them, and we appreciate the ACC’s recognition of these accomplishments.”

The ACC Academic Honor Roll consists of student-athletes who participated in a varsity-level sport and registered a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better for the full 2020-21 academic year.

Eleven different teams – men’s and women’s swimming and diving (57), men’s and women’s cross country (46), football (40), men’s and women’s track and field (31) softball (23), beach volleyball (20), soccer (18) and baseball (16) — totaled 16 or more honorees on the ACC Academic Honor Roll.

The nationally ranked Seminole swimming and diving teams led the way for the second consecutive year with 57 honorees. Under the direction of Head Coach Neal Studd, the swimmers have totaled 115 ACC Academic Honor Roll Citations in the last two seasons. Among the honorees from the 2021 swimming and diving team is senior Paxton Rhoads, who was a team captain and the President of the FSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC)

“I’m really excited that our student-athletes are so proud of their academic achievements,” said Studd. “They work so hard at it and deserve every accolade. With Florida State being ranked so high academically, these achievements just mean so much more.”

Diver Samantha Vear and NCAA Championships qualifier Jenny Halden were among the representatives from the women’s swimming and diving teams on the honor roll. Both Vear and Halden are first-time honorees.

The Seminole football team totaled 40 honorees including defensive ends Janarius Robinson and Joshua Kaindoh who were both selected in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Others included on the ACC Academic Honor Roll from the football team were running back Jashaun Corbin, linebacker Amari Gainer and offensive linemen Devontay Love-Taylor

“I am so proud of our 40 football student-athletes on this year’s ACC Honor Roll,” said Head Football Coach Mike Norvell. “This is a tremendous individual accomplishment for each of them and is evidence of our team embracing the high academic expectations within our program. How you do anything is how you do everything, and we are continuing to lay the foundation of success in all areas. Our team has earned the highest GPA in program history for three straight semesters, and we are going to continue to keep climbing higher in the classroom, in our community and on the field.”

The Seminole softball team, which captivated the nation’s attention in June as it played for the national championship, had 23 players honored including Elizabeth Mason and All-American Kathryn Sandercock who helped propel Florida State to the national championship-deciding game at the Women’s College World Series.

The Seminole softball senior class, which was lauded throughout the WCWS as the backbone of the team – Cassidy Davis, Mason, Dani Morgan, Anna Shelnutt and Sydney Sherrill – were all named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2021.

“It is always nice to be named to the ACC academic honor roll,” said Mason. “It shows that we not only do well on the field it shows that we did it in the classroom as well.”

The Seminole soccer team, which also played for the national championship, had 18 team members named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll. Among those were Malia Berkely, who was named the United Soccer Coaches Scholar Player of the Year and Kristina Lynch, who won the Elite 90 Award at the NCAA College Cup. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the site of the final for each of the NCAA’s championships.

“Being named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll is a privilege and an honor,” said McFarland. “Doing well in academics is of equal importance as doing well on the field.”

McFarland was one of 12 Seminoles who were named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll for the fifth time in their careers. The group of 12 who have been honored five times includes Steven Cross (men’s track and field), Davis (softball), Andrea Garcia (women’s tennis), Alex Knaff (men’s tennis), Shanice Love (women’s track and field), Molly McBain (beach volleyball), McFarland (soccer), Will Miles (men’s basketball), Morgan (softball), Harrison Prieto (men’s basketball), Sara Putt (beach volleyball) and Clara Robbins (soccer

Chase Haney of the Seminole baseball team earned the honor for a school-record tying sixth time.

Miles and Prieto, who have both played on three NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 teams, are among eight members of the nationally ranked Seminole Men’s Basketball Team to be named to the 2021 ACC Academic Honor Roll. Also named to the Honor Roll were Balsa Koprivica, Justin Lindner, Travis Light, Tanor Ngom, Isaac Spainhour, and Max Thorpe.

It marks the second consecutive year at least eight Seminole men’s basketball players were named to the conference-wide list, and the fifth consecutive year at least seven members of Head Coach Leonard Hamilton’s team have been honored academically by the ACC. In the last five seasons, the Seminole Men’s Basketball Team has earned a total of 38 ACC Academic Honor Roll selections and had nine players named to the All-ACC Academic Men’s Basketball Team.

First-Team All-American Beatrice Wallin headlines an outstanding list of six members of the nationally ranked Florida State Women’s Golf Team that have been named to the 2021 ACC Academic Honor Roll. Wallin is joined on the Honor Roll by Alice Hodge, Elle Johnson, Kathleen Sumner, Taylor Roberts and Amelia Williamson. It marks the 10^th consecutive season that at least six Seminole women’s golfers have been named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll.

Under Head Coach Amy Bond, the Seminoles earned a 3.57 cumulative grade point average during the Spring 2021 competitive season. Roberts earned President’s List honors (with a perfect 4.0 GPA) while four players earned Dean’s List honors (Hodge, Johnson, Sumner, and Williamson) during the spring.

Junior Paul Stafford, a two-time ACC Performer of the Week in 2020, and senior Maudie Skyring are just two of the 46 members of the Seminole cross country teams on the honor roll. Skyring helped the Seminole women finish in 15^th place in the NCAA Cross Country Championship meet.

Senior Trey Cunningham, one of the Seminoles’ most decorated track runners, was named to the ACC Honor Roll for the fourth time in his career – matching his All-American First-Team citations. Taryn Knuth, who played in three NCAA Tournaments as a member of the indoor volleyball team, was also named to the ACC Honor Roll for the fourth time in her career.

Men’s golfer Greyson Porter finished his Seminole career as he earned his fourth All-ACC Academic Honor Roll selection. He is one of 28 Seminoles to be honored for the fourth time on this year’s list.

Savannah Wilkinson and Sayawni Lassiter of the nationally ranked women’s basketball team, both of whom graduated this past winter and spring, respectively, ended their Seminole careers with four All-ACC Academic Honor Roll selections.

“I am so impressed with the continued success of our student-athletes, both in the classroom and on the playing fields,” said Associate Athletics Director and Director of Student-Athlete Academic Services Kacy King. “We applaud their excellence and their ability to achieve.”