Posted: Jun 09, 2020

Texas Lutheran Softball's Jurden, Raines named Academic All-Americans

SEGUIN, Texas – Texas Lutheran student-athletes Kelly Jurden and Chassety Raines received Academic All-America honors Tuesday in the College Sports Information Directors of America national program for NCAA Division III Softball.

Jurden, a junior from Brenham, Texas (Brenham HS), was named to the Academic All-America First Team. She repeated as an Academic All-America selection after being named to the Second Team in 2019.

Jurden is the 13th student-athlete in school history to pick up a second Academic All-America in a career.

Raines, a sophomore from Spring, Texas (Klein Collins HS), was named to the Academic All-America Third Team. She is the fourth student-athlete in school history to claim Academic All-America honors as a sophomore.

Jurden and Raines are the 43^rd and 44^th Academic All-Americans in school history.

Both student-athletes were key performers in TLU’s run to the 2019 NCAA Division III National Championship.

Jurden holds a 3.96 grade point average as a mathematics and computer science major. She is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science and her master’s degree in data analytics.

Raines holds a 4.0 GPA as a social innovation and social entrepreneurship major.

Jurden is a three-year starter for the Bulldogs. As the team's left-fielder and center-fielder, Jurden has a career batting average of .416 with 118 runs scored, 142 hits, 46 RBI, 48 walks, and 113 stolen bases.

Jurden is the all-time stolen base leader at TLU, and she led all of NCAA Division III in steals, with 61, in 2019. She was named the 2019 New Balance/NFCA Golden Shoe award winner for leading DIII in stolen bases.

Raines, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2019 NCAA Division III Softball Championship, is 12-0 in her Bulldog pitching career. She has a career ERA of 0.98 with 31 strikeouts in 71-1/3 innings pitched.

Raines has a perfect 4.0 GPA as a social innovation / social entrepreneurship major.

Raines was the winning pitcher in the DIII championship final win over Emory (Ga.). She tossed a complete-game, three-hitter in the championship victory.

Raines also plays in the Bulldog outfield. When not pitching, she starts in center field. She is a .392 career hitter with 13 doubles, five triples, one home run, 30 RBI, 15 stolen bases, and an on-base percentage of .477.

Since the 2020 softball season was halted mid-season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, CoSIDA All-America nominations were submitted using career numbers. TLU was 19-1 and ranked second nationally when its season ended.

Each college and university's sports information director could nominate up to six student-athletes in each sport. Academic All-District First Team selections moved on to the national ballot. TLU had a record four players – Jurden, Raines, Madisyn Cates, and Alyssa Cantu – named to the Academic All-America national ballot.

The 2020 Academic All-America® Softball Team, selected by CoSIDA, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.

The CoSIDA Academic All-America® program separately recognizes softball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.

The Division II and III CoSIDA Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2019-20 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CoSIDA Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA national office.

For more information about CoSIDA's Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com on CoSIDA.com.

TLU's complete multi-year Academic All-America® awards list includes:

Three-time Academic All-American Natalie Wood (women's cc/track and field, 2004-05, 2005-06, and 2006-07),

Two-time selection Amber Lowe (women's cc/track & field, 2007-08 and 2008-09),

Two-time selection David Stahl (men's soccer, 2002-03 and 2003-04),

Two-time selection Tommy Stolhandske (men's basketball, 2003-04 and 2004-05),

Two-time selection Matt Alves (football, 2006-07 and 2007-08),

Two-time selection Allen Cain (football, 2011-12 and 2012-13),

Two-time selection Ashley Meadows (women's cc/track and field, 2012-13 and 2013-14),

Two-time selection Taylor Grissom (softball, 2014-15 and 2015-16),

Two-time selection Sofia Vega (at-large, 2014-15 and 2015-16),

Two-time selection Amanda Lochte (softball, 2015-16 and 2016-17),

Two-time selection Riley Schaefer (baseball, 2016-17 and 2017-18),

Two-time selection Manny Longoria (football, 2018-19 and 2019-20),

Two-time selection Kelly Jurden (softball, 2018-19 and 2019-20).

The single-year Academic All-America® award winners for TLU include:

Chantel Mize (women's basketball, 1999-00),

Amy Behlen (softball, 2002-03),

Tracy Heathcock (women's volleyball, 2003-04),

Angela Bagwell (women's volleyball, 2004-05),

Abby Cochran (women's golf, 2005-06),

Dana Robbins (women's cc/track & field, 2007-08),

Ryan Nokelby (baseball, 2009-10),

Ashley Jacobsen (softball, 2013-14),

Derek Kanas (baseball, 2013-14),

Jacquelyn Brown (softball, 2014-15),

Nicole Snow (softball, 2015-16),

Tyler Howlett (football, 2016-17),

Kristen Lye (women's basketball, 2016-17),

Dylan Drgac (baseball, 2017-18),

Marquis Brown (men's cc/track and field, 2017-18),

Mitchell Long (men's soccer, 2019-20),

Chassety Raines (softball, 2019-20).

NCAA DIVISION III

CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year:

Hanna Hull, Virginia Wesleyan University

FIRST TEAM

Pos. Name School GPA Yr. Major

P Ilissa Hamilton (2) Case Western Reserve University 4.00 Sr. Biomedical Engineering

P Hanna Hull (1) Virginia Wesleyan University 3.65 Sr. Mathematics

C Gabby Stewart Ohio Northern University 3.41 Sr. Nursing

IF Sam Berghoff Illinois Wesleyan University 3.71 Sr. International & Hispanic Studies

IF Kalli Farmer (3) Millikin University 3.99 Sr. Sports Management

IF Shannon Lloyd (1) Keystone College 3.99 Sr. Criminal Justice & Psychology

IF Caraline Wood (2) Worcester Polytechnic Institute 3.87/3.85 Gr. Mechanical Engineering

OF Kelly Jurden (2) Texas Lutheran University 3.96 Jr. Mathematics / Data Analytics

OF Allison Meyer (^) George Fox University 4.00 Sr. Elementary Education

OF Megan Zinn (1) The University of Scranton 3.93 Sr. Early Childhood & Primary Education

DP Courtney Hackney Otterbein University 3.98 Sr. Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

SECOND TEAM

Pos. Name School GPA Yr. Major

P Kierstin Anderson-Glass (3) University of St. Thomas 3.46 Jr. Exercise Science

P Ally Wiegand Illinois Wesleyan University 3.57 Sr. English

C Natalie Maurice Carleton College 3.51 Sr. Statistics

IF Denia Bent Finlandia University 3.80 Sr. Graphic Design

IF Aly Freeman (3) Gustavus Adolphus College 4.00 Sr. Biology

IF Devon Goetz MIT 3.76 Sr. Mechanical Engineering / Brain & Cognitive Science

IF Kendall Marinesi California Lutheran University 3.97 Sr. Interdisciplinary Education Studies

OF Julia Carpenter Macalester College 3.95 Sr. English / Psychology

OF Caroline Ratti Kean University 3.89 Sr. Physical Education & Health Teacher Certification

OF Sara Tallman Central College 3.95 Sr. Elementary Education

OF Sarah Von Ahn (#) MIT 3.92 Sr. Mathematics with Computer Science

DP Lauren King Rhodes College 3.92 Jr. International Studies & History

THIRD TEAM

Pos. Name School GPA Yr. Major

P Julie Graf St. Olaf College 3.54 Sr. Exercise Science / Psychology

P Chassety Raines Texas Lutheran University 4.00 So. Social Innovation / Social Entrepreneurship

C Peyton Atkins Endicott College 3.92 Sr. Biology / Biotechnology

IF Elise Barnes University of St. Thomas 3.64 Sr. Exercise Science

IF Makenna Hartline Trine University 3.64 Sr. Exercise Science

IF Grace Wild Christopher Newport University 3.87 Sr. Chemistry

IF Hannah Wolfe University of Mary Hardin-Baylor 4.00 Sr. Accounting / Finance

OF Kasandra Bost Susquehanna University 3.93 Sr. Biomedical Sciences

OF Emily Miller North Central College 3.50 Jr. Psychology & Neuroscience

OF Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda Emmanuel College (MA) 3.90 Sr. Criminal Justice

DP Valentina Cucci Montclair State University 3.55 Sr. Exercise Science

(1) – CoSIDA Academic All-America® first-team selection in 2019

(2) – CoSIDA Academic All-America® second-team selection in 2019

(3) – CoSIDA Academic All-America® third-team selection in 2019

(#) – CoSIDA Academic All-America® first-team selection in 2019 and second-team selection in 2018

(^) – CoSIDA Academic All-America® second-team selection in 2019 and 2018