Southland Conference Announces Inaugural Beach Volleyball All-Academic Team
FRISCO, Texas – Central Arkansas’ Mackenzie Dear is the 2020 Southland Conference Beach Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year, the league announced Monday with its all-academic teams. Student-Athlete of the Year awards are presented by
GEICO.
Dear boasts a 3.90 GPA in health sciences and sported a flawless 8-0 record this spring with partner Aly Brinkley at the No. 1 position before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19. Dear, a two-year team captain, is a four-time member of the President’s List and has appeared on the Dean’s List on three occasions.
Dear was joined on the squad by teammate Faith Hasness, a sophomore from Spring Branch, Texas. UCA was one of three programs with a pair of honorees, along with Houston Baptist and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Huskies are represented by sophomore Kylie Bryan and senior Tori Hinojosa. The Islanders accounted for two of the three student-athletes with perfect 4.0 GPA's in sophomore Fanny Ahman and junior Rachel Young.
Abilene Christian, New Orleans, Nicholls and Stephen F. Austin each garnered one spot on the all-academic list. ACU’s Mackenzie Harris is the third individual with a 4.0 GPA.
SFA’s Corin Evans joins AMCC’s Young as the only two to earn both indoor and beach all-academic honors. UNO and Nicholls each placed a senior on the team in Veronica Corcoran and Emily Venable, respectively.
The All-Academic teams are voted on by the head coach, sports information director and academic/compliance staff member from each institution. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA and have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution to qualify for All-Academic selection.
The Southland Conference awards committee, which consists of one administrator from each of the 13 member schools, votes for the student-athlete of the year. The Southland student-athlete of the year award is presented to one student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All nominees must have earned at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale and demonstrated athletics achievement for at least two years at the nominating institution.
2020 Southland Beach Volleyball All-Academic Team
Student-Athlete of the Year: Mackenzie Dear, Central Arkansas
| Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
Major |
GPA |
|
| Mackenzie Dear^ |
Sr. |
Central Arkansas |
Conway, Ark. |
Health Sciences |
3.90 |
|
| Fanny Ahman |
So. |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
Umea, Sweden |
Kinesiology |
4.00 |
|
| Kylie Bryan |
So. |
Houston Baptist |
Red Oak, Texas |
Biology/Biomedical Sciences |
3.72 |
|
| Veronica Corcoran |
Sr. |
New Orleans |
Closter, N.J. |
Marketing |
3.86 |
|
| Corin Evans |
Sr. |
Stephen F. Austin |
Katy, Texas |
Kinesiology |
3.97 |
|
| Mackenzie Harris |
So. |
Abilene Christian |
Murfreesboro, Tenn. |
Accounting |
4.00 |
|
| Faith Hasness |
So. |
Central Arkansas |
Spring Branch, Texas |
Undecided |
3.93 |
| Tori Hinojosa |
Sr. |
Houston Baptist |
San Antonio, Texas |
Marketing |
3.46 |
| Emily Venable |
Sr. |
Nicholls |
Gonzales, La. |
Biology |
3.92 |
| Rachel Young |
Jr. |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
Frisco, Texas |
Finance |
4.00 |
^Student-Athlete of the Year