LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- In an announcement made today from conference headquarters, Texas Lutheran University's DeAnna Hernandez was named the 2020 SCAC Softball Elite 19 award winner.
Hernandez, a senior outfielder from Sugar Land, Texas, currently holds a 4.00 GPA as a Biochemistry major and was named First-Team All-SCAC in 2019. Last season, Hernandez batted .367 from the plate with 30 runs scored, 29 hits and nine RBI to help lead the Bulldogs to their sixth-straight SCAC Softball Title and the program's first-ever Div. III National Title. She was honored with the NCAA Elite 90 Award in 2019 - an award presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 90 championships.
Due to the cancelation of the 2020 spring season, the criteria for the SCAC Elite 19 honor was modified. Awarded to the student-athlete who has completed the equivalent of at least 60 credit hours at his or her current institution and has at least a cumulative 3.25 GPA - for this spring only - a First or Second Team All-SCAC honor at any point of the student-athlete's career was enough to satisfy the all-conference requirement. Normally, the student-athlete must have earned All-SCAC First or Second Team honors in his/her sport for that particular season.
The SCAC Elite 19 award was established prior to the 2018-19 academic year and is meant to recognize the best of the best within each conference sponsored-sport as it relates to both academic and athletic achievement.
SCAC Elite 19 Softball Award Winners
2020 - DeAnna Hernandez, Texas Lutheran University
2019 - Hannah Ortiz, Schreiner University