Wheaton athlete earns academic honors at St. Cloud State University

St. Cloud, Minn. - St. Cloud State University softball player Maya Keating, a resident of Wheaton, Ill. and graduate of Wheaton-Warrenville H.S., was recently named to the 2020 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District 7 First Team.

Thanks to her impressive academic and athletic performances, Keating earned Academic All-District honors for the first time in her career, joining former standout Kate Kopeck as the only Huskies to earn the honor since 2011. Keating, a double major in elementary education and special education, earned the award after maintaining a 3.80 GPA while hitting .370 during the shortened season with 27 hits in 73 at bats.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Keating's past accolades and stats were taken into account when selecting the 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-District teams.

A two-time Academic All-Conference honoree, the second baseman put together a breakout season in 2019, earning Second Team All-NSIC and First Team All-Region honors after batting .401 during the season with a team-leading 77 hits. She led the team and ranked top-10 in the NSIC in batting average (.401), hits (77) and on base percentage (.447) and ranked second in runs scored (49) and stolen bases (29) amongst her teammates. Additionally, Keating concluded the 2019 season as one of the top second basemen in the conference thanks to her .968 fielding percentage in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play.

Keating's 2018 stats were equally as impressive, as she once again led the team in batting average at the conclusion of the regular season. She was voted team captain prior to the 2020 season and plans to return to St. Cloud State for one last go round in 2021.

Honorees are nominated by their institution's sport information directors/athletic communications representatives and are selected by the members of CoSIDA. Keating and her fellow Academic All-District selections advance to the Academic All-America ballot, and Academic All-Americans will be announced in June.

St. Cloud State University was founded in 1869, and its campus is located in the city of St. Cloud, Minn. - approximately one hour northwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The University enrolls over 11,000 students. An NCAA Division II affiliiate, SCSU is a member of the always rugged Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.