All-Academic Teams
Academic Honor Roll
 
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Ten University of West Florida student-athletes have earned spots on the 2018 Gulf South Conference Spring All-Academic Teams, the league announced Tuesday. West Florida's 10 selections were the most in the conference among the six spring sports the Argonauts compete in.
 
West Florida catcher Matt Sullivan led the GSC and ranked 20th nationally with 20 doubles for the year, while hitting .335 and leading UWF with 98 total bases as a junior. The Orlando, Florida, native holds a 3.91 GPA in finance and was a 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, in addition to earning a spot on the GSC All-Academic team for a second consecutive year.
 
Despite missing nearly half of her junior season, Rhiannon Sassman earned a spot on the All-Academic team for a second time. Sassman holds a 3.85 GPA in biomedical sciences and is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, while ranking in the top 10 in UWF history in triples, slugging percentage, and batting average. She led West Florida in slugging, on-base percentage and triples this year.
 
The All-Academic Team honor wraps up an excellent career for Meghan Toney. She ranks in the top 10 in UWF softball history in stolen bases and fielding assists, and is one of just six players in the history of the program to earn All-GSC honors three times in her career. A senior from Huntsville, Alabama, Toney holds a 3.27 GPA in nursing and was an All-Gulf South Conference selection this year. She is a three-time GSC All-Academic Team selection, as well.
 
Chandler Blanchet is a three-time First Team All-America honoree and has now earned a spot on the GSC All-Academic Team for a third time in his career. Blanchet was the 2017-18 GSC Commissioner's Trophy Winner and has been named the GSC Player of the Year three times, while adding 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America and 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-District selections to his resume. He holds a 3.65 GPA in exercise science.
 
Christian Bosso has a 3.35 GPA in sports management and was a second team All-Gulf South Conference selection this year. Bosso, a junior, was a member of the 2017 GSC Academic Honor Roll and currently ranks 34th overall in Division II and fifth among players in the GSC.
 
Jacob Huizinga, also a junior, has a 3.61 GPA in sports management and was a GCS All-Academic Team member in 2017, as well. He is now a three-time GSC Academic Honor Roll awardee and is a two-time First Team All-GSC honoree.
 
Juan Cabrera was runner-up for GSC Freshman of the Year on the tennis court and takes a spot on the GSC All-Academic Team for the first time in his career. Cabrera, who has a 3.98 GPA in finance, led the GSC in singles victories with 24, went 9-0 in singles play against GSC opponents, and was a second team All-GSC selection.
 
Fellow freshman Juan Motta has a 3.72 GPA in comprehensive economics and went 14-2 in singles for the year. Motta went 8-0 in singles against the GSC from the No. 6 position on the court.
 
Samantha Echevarria was a second team All-GSC selection this year and earns her spot on the GSC All-Academic Team for the first time in her career. Echevarria is now a two-time member of the GSC Academic Honor Roll and holds a 3.94 GPA in psychology. She went 20-4 in singles this year and went 22-9 in doubles for the national runners-up.
 
With a 3.93 GPA in mechanical engineering, junior Heather Mixon has earned a place on the All-Academic team for a second time. Mixon has been on the GSC Academic Honor Roll three times in her career and led the GSC in singles wins on the tennis court in 2018, going 30-2 with a perfect 12-0 record.
 
In the 14 sports in which UWF participates in the Gulf South Conference, the Argonauts' 20 All-Academic selections during the 2017-18 academic year were the most in the conference.
 
The Spring All-Academic Teams were selected by the GSC Sports Information Directors (SIDs) and Faculty Athletic Representatives (FARs) in a joint vote. Nominated student-athletes must have an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.20 or better on a 4.00 scale for their entire academic career and may not be freshmen or first-semester or quarter transfers.
 
The student-athlete must be a significant contributor to the squad. Other factors include leadership, community service and extra-curricular activities. SIDs and FARs are not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes. The number of student-athletes selected in each sport is determined by the number of positions normally involved in the playing of that sport.
 
Additionally, UWF placed 46 student-athletes earn a place on the GSC Spring Honor Roll, which requires a 3.00 grade point average. A minimum grade point average of 3.00 is required to be named to the GSC Academic Honor Roll. Qualification for this particular honor is automatic based on GPA and nomination. West Florida had 132 student-athletes on the GSC Academic Honor Roll between the fall, winter and spring seasons.