SPARTANBURG, S.C.—Samford University placed 35 student-athletes on the Southern Conference's Spring Academic All-Conference team, when the league released the team on Wednesday.
 
Samford's 35 student-athletes posted an average grade-point average of 3.56. The women's track and field team led all Samford teams with 13 representatives on the team. Women's tennis placed five members on the team, while baseball and men's track and field had four members each on the team. Men's tennis had three student-athletes named to the team, while men's golf, women's golf and softball had two representatives each.
 
All 11 SoCon institutions were represented on the 312-member team, which honored student-athletes from the sports of baseball, softball, men's and women's golf, men's and women's outdoor track and field, and men's and women's tennis.
 
To be eligible, student-athletes must carry at least a 3.3 cumulative grade point average entering the spring season and were required to compete in at least 50 percent of their teams' competitions during the recently concluded spring campaign. In addition, the student-athletes must have successfully completed at least 24 credit hours in the previous two semesters.
 
Each of the 11 league schools placed at least 12 student-athletes on the team, with Western Carolina leading the way with 41. Elon was right behind the Catamounts with 40 selections, and Samford was third with 35. Appalachian State (33), Chattanooga (33) and Wofford (31) also eclipsed 30 selections.
 
The 312 total selections were the most in the SoCon in the spring since the standard was raised from a 3.2 GPA prior to the 2011-12 season. The SoCon's total of 802 student-athletes honored during the 2013-14 academic year, including the fall (331) and winter (159) Academic All-Conference teams, is the second-highest in league history, trailing only the 862 honored in 2010-11, the final year at the 3.2 minimum GPA. In addition, SoCon student athletes combined to post 44 perfect GPAs in 2013-14, a league record. The league included 12 schools from 2008 to 2013.
 
The league's 11 women's outdoor track and field teams provided the most Academic All-Conference members with 95, up 14 from last season, followed by men's outdoor track and field with 49 and baseball with 46.
 
 
SAMFORD'S SPRING ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE REPRESENTATIVES
Parker Curry, Baseball          
Tyler Filliben, Baseball          
Cole Limbaugh, Baseball           
Charles Terry, Baseball          
William Catanzaro, Men's golf          
Zach Hughes, Men's golf          
Natalie Mitchell, Women's golf           
Alex Jasper, Women's golf
Lukas Weishaar, Men's outdoor track & field
Owen Wagoner, Men's outdoor track & field
Steven Bastien, Men's outdoor track & field
Ryan Cook, Men's outdoor track & field
Anna Laura Irvine, Women's outdoor track & field
Emily Allen, Women's outdoor track & field
Margaret Grogan, Women's outdoor track & field
Victoria Demedicis, Women's outdoor track & field
Ansley Bos, Women's outdoor track & field
Katelyn Brock, Women's outdoor track & field
Claire Goodson, Women's outdoor track & field
Nicole Charley, Women's outdoor track & field
Kristin Brining, Women's outdoor track & field
Shelby Builta, Women's outdoor track & field
Ashley Cope, Women's outdoor track & field
Lauren D'Alessio, Women's outdoor track & field
Danielle Blanco, Women's outdoor track & field
Mollie Hanson, Softball
Arica Dykes, Softball
Fares Kilani, Men's tennis
Elliot Barnwell, Men's tennis
Trey Carter, Men's tennis
Lauren Caballero, Women's tennis
Emily Mallory, Women's tennis
Kristin Lewis, Women's tennis
Yasmeen Ebada, Women's tennis
Jessica Northcutt, Women's tennis