Release courtesy of Dan O'Connell, Director of Athletics Media Relations, Towson University

TOWSON, Md. – Senior pitcher Kendra Huettl of Minnesota State University Mankato headlines the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® NCAA Division II Softball Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

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The Capital One Division II Academic All-America program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2011012 D-II Academic All-America teams program.

Huettl, a homegrown product of Mankato, Minn., has been named the Academic All-America® of the Year for NCAA Division II.  A nursing major with a 3.99 G.P.A., she leads the first team after earning College Division Academic All-America® third team honors last year.

Huettl put up some impressive numbers while leading the Mavericks to a 49-10 record. She finished the season with a 24-4 record in the circle with a 1.39 ERA. In 202 innings, she allowed just 134 hits and 70 walks while striking out a school-record 247 batters.

She was named as a first team Daktronics All-American and a third team NFCA All-American accolades.  As a junior, she received the Elite 88 award at the NCAA Division II Championship.  She holds many of Minnesota State Mankato’s career pitching records, including 92 career victories.

Huettl tops a group of 12 players on the Capital One Academic All-America® Division II Teams who earned either NFCA or Daktronics All-American honors, including four on the first team. 

The other pitcher on the first team is Jennifer DeMotte of the University of Indianapolis. A junior with a major in entrepreneurship is also a homegrown product from Indianapolis. She was named to the first team of both the NFCA and Daktronics All-America teams, in addition to earning the Daktronics Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year award. 

A standout both in the circle and at the plate, DeMotte led the Greyhounds to a 50-9 record. She posted 35-7 record and a 0.99 E.R.A. In 253.2 innings, she set a school record with 272 strikeouts while allowing just 154 hits and 47 walks. DeMotte also batted .323 with three home runs and 45 RBI’s.       

Infielder Kacie Edwards of the University of Central Oklahoma earned first team Capital One Academic All-America® honors by compiling a 3.64 G.P.A. as a Biology major. Honored as the Daktronics Division II Player of the Year, she led the Bronchos to the College World Series. A first team Daktronics All-American, the Yukon, Okla. native batted .460 with 18 home runs, a national-leading 78 RBI’s and an .863 slugging percentage. UCO finished 46-8, losing on the final day of the College World Series.

Junior outfielder Brittany Bucko of Southern Connecticut State University is another first team Daktronics All-American who was named to the Capital One Academic All-America® Division II first team. An exercise science major with a 3.50 G.P.A., Bucko batted .394 with 19 home runs and 38 RBI’s while leading Southern Connecticut to a 43-13 record. A three-time All-Northeast-10 Conference selection, she also helped the Owls earn a berth in the Division II College World Series. A native of Wallington, N.J., she was named as the Daktronics East Region Player of the Year.

Senior catcher Alyson Johnson of California (Pa.) earned a berth on the Capital One Academic All-America® Division II team as a catcher. A Biology major with a 3.82 G.P.A., she batted .339 with six home runs and 32 RBI’s. She also led the Vulcans with 12 doubles. A four-time All-PSAC West honoree, she earned first team honors three times.

Senior third baseman Alison Allen of Wayne State (Mich.) University, senior shortstop Kacee Camp of Augusta State, and senior first baseman Emily Kennemer of East Central University join Edwards on the Capital One Academic All-America® Division II first team infield.

A linguistics major with a 3.65 G.P.A., Allen batted .374 for Wayne State. A native of Redford, Mich., she had 16 doubles, five home runs and a team-leading 59 RBI’s. An outstanding defensive player, she made only four errors for a .971 fielding percentage. Last year, she was a second team NFCA and Daktronics All-American selection. She helped Wayne State finish the season with a 34-22 record.

A biology major with a 3.88 G.P.A., Camp batted .390 and scored 35 runs for Augusta State. A native of Harlem, Ga., she also had 13 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 27 RBI’s. Camp led the Jaguars to the NCAA Southeast Regional for the fourth consecutive season.  

Honored as the inaugural Great American Conference Player of the Year, Kennemer has a double major of education and kinesiology with a 3.97 G.P.A. She led the league in seven offensive categories, including batting average (.455), hits (66), home runs (11), doubles (16), and slugging percentage (.807).  A native of Mesquite, Tex., she also had 36 RBI’s. Kennemer led East Central to a 27-18 record.  She has a 3.97 GPA as an Education/Kinesiology major. 

Junior outfielder Morgan Johnson of NCAA Division II champion Valdosta State University and Florida Southern’s Karlyn Scott join Bucko in the outfield on the Capital One Academic All-America® Division II first team. 

A nursing major with a 3.77 G.P.A., Johnson helped Valdosta State win the national championship with a final record of 58-5. A native of Macon, Ga., she batted .427 with 18 doubles, a pair of triples and 11 home runs. She had 51 RBI’s and scored 55 runs, both second on the team.  A member of the All-Gulf South Conference first team and the NFCA All-South Region first team, she was also named to the all-tournament team at the NCAA Championship Tournament. At the NCAA Tournament, she batted 357 with two home runs and seven RBI’s.

A biology major with a perfect 4.00 G.P.A., Scott led Florida Southern to a 39-18 record as a senior. A first team All-Sunshine State Conference selection, she batted .358 with 20 RBI’s. A product of Crawfordsville, Fla., she was a perfect 29-for-29 on stolen base attempts. 

Designated player Kristen O’Haver of the University of Southern Indiana rounds out the Capital One Academic All-America® Division II first team.  An elementary education major with a 3.80 G.P.A., O’Hayer was a first team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection. A senior from Odon, Ind., O’Haver also earned second team NFCA and Daktronics All-Midwest Region honors. She batted .356 with eight home runs and 29 RBI’s as Southern Indiana finished the season with a 27-21 record.  

Junior pitcher Katie Warrington of Wilmington (Del.) leads the Capital One Capital One Academic All-America® Division II second team. A third team Capital One Academic All-America® College Division selection last year, she moved up to second team this season. A sports management major with a 4.00 G.P.A., she posted a 13-8 record while striking out 185 batters in 140.2 innings.

Senior Jessie Stavola of Dowling, a physical education major with a 3.86 G.P.A., is the other pitcher on the second team. The two-time East Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year, Stavola posted a 22-9 record with a a 1.28 E.R.A.

Senior catcher Tiffany Weise and sophomore shortstop Bailey Vrazel, a pair of teammates from Texas Woman’s University, are both members of the second team. A computer science major with a 3.62 G.P.A., Weise batted .370 with seven home runs and 48 RBI’s. A kinesiology major with a 4.00 G.P.A., Vrazel led the Pioneers with a 414 batting average. She scored 61 runs and had 20 RBI’s. Vrazel led NCAA Division II with 75 stolen bases in 77 attempts. Weise and Vrazel led the Pioneers to a 37-17 record.

Seniors Samantha Eimers of Mercyhurst, Stephanie Janes of Fort Lewis University and Kim Wachholder of Winona State complete the second team infield. An elementary education major with a 3.74 G.P.A., Eimers earned first team All-PSAC West honors while batting .451 with 53 runs scored and 74 hits. She also hit 10 home runs and had 30 RBI’s. A business administration and finance major with a 3.82 G.P.A., Janes batted .406 with 10 home runs and 43 RBI’s en route to all-conference first team honors. A bio-chemistry major with a 3.93 G.P.A., Wachholder led Winona State to a 44-12 record while setting the school record with 60 runs batted in.  She batted  .339 with 15 doubles, a pair of triples and 16 home runs. 

Graduate student Molly Clark of Metropolitan State University leads a quartet of outfielders, as there was a tie for the third outfielder.  An accounting major with a 3.84 G.P.A., she hit .340 with four home runs and 25 RBI’s.  Senior Angela Jay of Chadron State College is a physical education and health major with a 3.89 G.P.A. She batted hit .342 with 15 doubles, four home runs and 25 RBI’s in 2012.

Juniors Shelby Duff of Armstrong Atlantic State University and Lewis University’s Jayme Hefler complete the contingent of outfielders on the second team. A radiologic services major with a 3.63 G.P.A., Duff led the Pirates to a 45-11 record by hitting .416 with 14 doubles, six home runs, and 30 RBI’s. An athletic training major with a 3.62 G.P.A., Hefler earned honorable mention Daktronics All-American honors. She batted .415 with 49 runs scored and 35 stolen bases for Lewis University. 

Senior designated player Elyssa Boris of the University of Massachusetts Lowell completes the second team. An exercise physiology major with a 3.41 G.P.A., she hit .391 with nine doubles, eight home runs and 44 RBI’s.  A first team All-Northeast 10 Conference pick, she was also a standout as a pitcher, finishing the season with a 20-9 record. She helped the River Hawks earn an NCAA Division II Tournament bid as they finished the year with a 34-18 record.

The Capital One Academic All-America® Division II third team is led by senior pitcher Emlyn Knerem of Ashland University and senior outfielder Jamie Moon of Cal State Monterey Bay, a pair of third team NFCA All-Americans.

Junior pitcher Delaney Childers and junior shortstop Julie Plante of Dominican (N.Y.) College are also members of the third team.

Wayne State also had a pair of players named to the third team, sophomore infielder Nikki Fulton and sophomore outfielder Logan White. Their selections give the Warriors three players overall on the Capital One Academic All-America® Division II Softball team. 

Sophomore Natalie Wideman of California (Pa.), and junior Kristin Whitley of Southern Connecticut were also named as third team infielders, along with senior Sarah Lustgraff of Colorado School of Mines. Senior catcher Kathy Crudo of Winona State and junior designated player Theresa McMahon of Augustana (S.D.) complete the Capital One Academic All-America® Division II third team.

The 11 members of the Capital One Academic All-America® Division II softball first team have an average G.P.A. of 3.80.

About Capital One      

Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., and ING Bank, fsb, had $216.5 billion in deposits and $294.5 billion in total assets outstanding as of March 31, 2012. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One and ING Direct offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.

Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN’s Capital One Bowl Week. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot team, Capital One Academic All-America Program, and supports all 89 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.

About the Academic All-America® Program      

To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.

Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.