Story Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
University of Toledo senior Dayna Denner and NIU junior Katie Keller have been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Softball Team Thursday. Denner was chosen as a member of the second team, while Keller recieved third team honors.
Denner graduated in May 2020. She is currently pursuing her master's degree in business administration and holds a 3.81 graduate GPA. She is the program's first Academic All-American since Christin Chadwick earned second-team honors in 1992.
Denner earned Mid-American Conference Player of the Year and First Team All-MAC selection this past season and became the first Rocket to be selected to the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First Team since 1995 following her impressive campaign. She started all 53 games for the Rockets and ranked second in the MAC with a .550 on-base percentage (15th nationally), .841 slugging percentage (17th nationally), 20 doubles (T-5th nationally) and 37 walks, third with a .421 batting average, and fourth with 13 home runs.
Keller is the 11th Huskie all-time to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, and the first since Jenny Van Geertry, who was a third team honoree in 2019. A two-time academic all-district selection, this is the first academic all-America award for Keller and the latest in a long list of awards in 2021.
Keller, who earned All-Great Lakes Region honors this year and the Mid-American Conference's Nan Harvey Award, was also a first-team All-MAC selection and a member of the 2021 MAC All-Defensive Team.
An Academic All-MAC honoree, Keller boasts a 4.0 pursuing her degree in biology. The Geneva, Ill. native made the team as a catcher, and is one of two MAC student-athletes to be named to one of the three academic all-America teams. Toledo infielder Dayna Denner was also named to the academic All-America team.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his current institution and be nominated by their respective sports information director.
