AUSTIN, Texas – Recent Mercer softball graduate Allie Jones was honored by being selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Second Team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday.
This is Jones' second time being named a CoSIDA Academic All-American® after landing on the Third Team in 2020. The Calhoun, Ga., native was the only representative from the Southern Conference to be recognized, as well as being the only player from the state of Georgia to land on the Academic All-America team. She became just the second Mercer softball player to earn back-to-back Academic All-America honors since 2016 when Natalie Shiver accomplished that feat. Additionally, she is one of 11 players to earn multiple Academic All-America honors this year.
Jones graduated with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average while double-majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The Calhoun, Ga., native will attend medical school in the fall with hopes of becoming a physician. While at Mercer, Jones was a member of the Phi Eta Honor Society and the American Chemical Society and participated in several research projects, ranging from traditional chemistry to a more biochemistry-focused investigation, and presented her findings at multiple conferences.
A two-year captain for the Bears, Jones patrolled center field for the Bears for the past three seasons and started each of Mercer's 130 games since the start of the 2019 season. She is one of five players in program history to steal at least 50 bases as a Bear and ranks fifth in stolen bases and stolen base attempts (50-for-57), sixth in stolen base percentage (.877 pct.), seventh in triples (7) and eighth in doubles (28).
Jones closed out her career by hitting .306 (44-for-144) during her senior campaign while posting team highs with four home runs and 20 stolen bases. She added six doubles and two triples in 2021 while racking up 26 runs and 18 RBI. Jones ended her career on the diamond on a high note by reaching base in 18 of her final 19 games. She hit .410 over that stretch, recording 25 hits with four home runs and three doubles while scoring 16 runs and driving in 12 RBI.
A career .308 hitter (153-for-497), Jones donned the Black and Orange in 174 games while earning the starting nod 158 times. The 5-foot-7 outfielder finished with 89 runs scored and 77 RBI while slugging five home runs. Jones posted 40 multi-hit performances and 19 multi-RBI games.
In addition to her accomplishments on the field, Jones was awarded the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and the prestigious Dorothy Hicks Scholarship from the Southern Conference earlier this spring.
CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® TEAMS
Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year: Bailey Hemphill, Univ. of Alabama
FIRST TEAM
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
GPA |
Yr. |
Major |
| P |
Carrie Eberle |
Oklahoma State Univ. |
3.87/4.00 |
Gr. |
Forensic Sciences |
| P |
Montana Fouts |
Univ. of Alabama |
3.51 |
Jr. |
Psychology/Sport Management |
| C |
Bailey Hemphill |
Univ. of Alabama |
4.00/4.00 |
Gr. |
Early Childhood Education/Hospitality Mgmt. |
| IF |
Mackenzie Boesel |
Univ. of South Carolina |
4.00/4.00 |
Gr. |
Sport & Entertainment Management |
| IF |
Jessie Harper |
Univ. of Arizona |
3.74/4.00 |
Gr. |
Sociology |
| IF |
Kaylee Tow |
Univ. of Alabama |
4.00/4.00 |
Gr. |
Marketing/MBA |
| IF |
Sami Williams |
Iowa State Univ. |
3.94/3.93 |
Sr. |
Information Systems & Business Analytics |
| OF |
Renee Abernathy |
Univ. of Kentucky |
4.00 |
Jr. |
Human Health Sciences |
| OF |
Andrea Howard |
Univ. of New Mexico |
4.00 |
Sr. |
Biology |
| OF |
Janelle Meoño |
Univ. of Arizona |
3.84 |
So. |
Communication |
| DP |
Kendyl Lindaman |
Univ. of Florida |
4.00/4.00 |
Gr. |
Sport Management |
SECOND TEAM
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
GPA |
Yr. |
Major |
| P |
Hailey Dolcini |
Fresno State |
3.93 |
Sr. |
Health & Human Services |
| P |
Ashley Rogers |
Univ. of Tennessee |
4.00 |
Jr. |
Kinesiology |
| C |
Kayla Kowalik |
Univ. of Kentucky |
3.40 |
Jr. |
Management & Accounting |
| IF |
Jenna Cone |
George Washington Univ. |
3.37/3.80 |
Gr. |
Media & Strategic Communication |
| IF |
Dayna Denner |
Univ. of Toledo |
4.00/3.81 |
Gr. |
Interdisciplinary Studies/MBA |
| IF |
Grace Lyons |
Univ. of Oklahoma |
3.87 |
So. |
Biomedical Engineering |
| IF |
Briana Perez |
UCLA |
3.44/4.00 |
Gr. |
Psychology |
| OF |
Hayley Busby |
Oklahoma State Univ. |
3.41/4.00 |
Gr. |
Psychology (UG) / Teaching, Learning & Leadership (G) |
| OF |
Rylee Jensen |
Brigham Young Univ. |
3.42 |
Sr. |
Exercise & Wellness |
| OF |
Allie Jones |
Mercer Univ. |
4.00 |
Sr. |
Biochemistry & Molecular Chemistry |
| OF |
Faith Weber |
George Washington Univ. |
3.84/4.00 |
Gr. |
Master of Public Health – Epidemiology |
| DP |
Mack Leonard |
Illinois State Univ. |
3.95 |
Jr. |
Exercise Science |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
THIRD TEAM
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
GPA |
Yr. |
Major |
| P |
Courtney Coppersmith |
UMBC |
3.75 |
Jr. |
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology |
| P |
Georgina Corrick |
Univ. of South Florida |
3.68 |
Sr. |
Marine Biology |
| C |
Katie Keller |
Northern Illinois Univ. |
4.00 |
Jr. |
Biological Sciences |
| IF |
Charla Echols |
Univ. of Florida |
3.59 |
Jr. |
Education Sciences |
| IF |
Kristin Hallam |
Hofstra Univ. |
3.91/4.00 |
Gr. |
Exercise Science (UG) / Sport Science (G) |
| IF |
Mekenzie Saban |
Saint Francis Univ. |
4.00/4.00 |
Gr. |
Accounting |
| IF |
Emily Young |
Stanford Univ. |
3.87 |
Jr. |
Aeronautics & Astronautics |
| OF |
Alexis Mack |
Univ. of Alabama |
3.38/4.00 |
Gr. |
Advertising & Public Relations |
| OF |
Dani Morgan |
Florida State Univ. |
3.97 |
Sr. |
Environment & Society |
| DP |
Paige Rauch |
Villanova Univ. |
3.58 |
Sr. |
Political Science |