FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairfield University softball team ranked ninth on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's Team Academic Honors list, while 14 student-athletes were named to the NFCA Scholar-Athlete Team.

The Stags earned a team grade point average of 3.589, which was .018 points off making the top five. The team GPA was bolstered by the 14 student-athletes who were honored as scholar-athletes, a designation earned with a 3.5 GPA or higher. Fairfield was one of 14 teams to place 14 or more student-athletes on the NFCA Scholar-Athlete Team.

Kristen Ball, Shelby Butwell, Nicole Capra, Makenna DiGuilio, Lauren Filicia, Gianna Kinhofer, Angelina McGuire, Lauren Petersen, Tori Reed, Rachel Sieber, Courtney Hankins, Karisa Hughen, Alisha Marshall, and Cynthia Meringer represented Fairfield University on the NFCA Scholar-Athlete Team.

The Fairfield University softball, under Head Coach Julie Brzezinski, begins the 2017 season on February 24 at the UNC-Charlotte Tournament. The Stags posted a 27-23 overall record, a 12-8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) slate, and advanced to the MAAC Tournament in 2016.