AUSTIN, Texas – Southern Arkansas senior softball player Maddie Dow has been an exemplary model of excellence both on the softball field and in the classroom throughout her four-year career at SAU. A decorated recipient of numerous athletic and academic awards, Dow has added one of the most prestigious academic plaudits possible as she has been named as the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year for Division II Softball as it was announced by CoSIDA on Wednesday.

A native of Bonham, Texas, Dow recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from Southern Arkansas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training. At the time of her nomination for the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America® program, Dow had a 3.87 cumulative GPA, but after her fourth-straight 4.0 semester was completed this spring, her GPA rose to a 3.88.

A CoSIDA Academic All-America® Second-Team honoree a year ago, Dow becomes the third student-athlete at SAU, and the second from the Great American Conference (GAC) to be repeat the honor. As the CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year in DII Softball, Dow was placed on the first-team and becomes the fourth student-athlete from SAU and the GAC to be on the first-team. Additionally, she is the league’s second recipient of Academic All-America® of the Year honors for softball, joining Southern Nazarene’s Amy Madden in 2013.

On the field, Dow put forth an illustrious career at SAU that has seen her be a four-time all-region honoree, a three-time All-GAC selection, a top-25 finalist for DII Player of the Year by the NFCA and a consensus first-team All-America player.

This past year, as a senior, Dow turned in perhaps her best all-around year. Lauded as the Great American Conference’s Player of the Year, Dow was a league-leader in the GAC in Batting Average (.423), Slugging Percentage (.899), On-Base Percentage (.598), Home Runs (22), Total Bases (151), Walks (54), and Hit-By-Pitch (24).

All of those stat categories were season bests in her career, and her marks in Average, Slugging Percentage, On-Base Percentage, Total Bases, Walks and Hit-By-Pitch were all new single-season records at SAU.

Currently Dow ranks in the Top-10 nationally in Home Runs (1st – 22), On-Base Percentage (2nd – .598), Walks (5th – 54), Slugging Percentage (5th – .899), and Total Bases (6th – 151).

The all-time leader at SAU in Batting Average (.363), On-Base Percentage (.522), Hits (244), Home Runs (74), RBIs (224), Walks (175) and Total Bases (502), Dow ended her career ranked in the Top-20 all-time in Division II Softball in Walks (2nd), Home Runs (4th), Total Bases (T-10th), and RBIs (T-20th).

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