AUSTIN, Texas – Much like in the All-NSIC, all-region and All-America awards, the Augustana softball team was once again the best. This time it was a nation's best three CoSIDA Academic All-America honorees announced Tuesday. Gracey Brink earned First Team Academic All-America honors while Ashley Mickschl and Delaney Young were named to the third team.
 
Brink, an NFCA and D2CCA All-America honoree on the field, boasts a 3.95 GPA in the classroom while majoring in exercise science. The junior catcher from Rapid City, South Dakota, had a breakout campaign for the NSIC Champion Vikings while leading AU with a .422 batting average. Her average helped boost Augustana's team average to the third-best in the nation in 2022 while she belted career-highs in home runs (9), triples (4) and total bases (106). She reached base in more than half of her at-bats with a .506 on-base percentage and held a .721 slugging percentage.
 
Mickschl, a two-time Academic All-America selection, ends her storied career as perhaps Augustana's best pitcher ever. Hailing from Woodbury, Minnesota, Mickschl is the career wins leader at Augustana with 114. She tossed 27 shutouts and struck out 650 batters. Proving her dominance, she induced 1,101 groundouts, more than three better than the second-best at Augustana. In 2022, she was named an NFCA All-America honoree for the fourth time while owning a 24-3 record. She ranked ninth in the nation with less than a walk per seven innings while ranking 19^th in DII with a 6.18-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
 
Young earns her first Academic All-America accolade. The Vikings' first baseman batted a career-best .387 during her fourth year while belting 14 home runs and totaling 63 RBI. Her 14 home runs ranked her 25^th in the nation while her RBI mark ranked her 11^th in all of DII. Showing a keen eye at the plate, she struck out just 12 times in 2022. The First Team All-NSIC performer earned a pair of all-region accolades from the NFCA and D2CCA.
 
The trio earns the ninth, 10^th and 11^th all-time CoSIDA Academic All-America honors for the Augustana softball team all-time. Under head coach Gretta Meltsted, that number is now eight all-time honorees while Augustana has garnered 89 total Academic All-America honors since 1972.
 
The Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2021-22 Division II Academic All-America® program.
 
--GoAugie.com--