Softball's Brombacher and Bruder Named Academic All-Americans
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 | Softball
University of Florida juniors Stephanie Brombacher (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Kelsey Bruder (Corona, Calif.) were named 2010 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans by the College of Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
“I am so proud of Kelsey and Stephanie,” Head coach Tim Walton said. “To be a successful student-athlete takes great dedication and hard work. Earning the right to be an Academic All-American is one of the hardest and most prestigious awards one could win.”
Bruder earned second-team honors, making the list for the first time in her career. She was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First Team earlier this year and the Second Team in 2009. A 2009 All-American, the right fielder has belted 30 career home runs, good for fifth in Florida record books. Her .646 career slugging percentage is currently number one all-time and her .337 batting average ranks fourth. She was named to the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor last year.
Brombacher earned third-team accolades for the second time, as she was one of two sophomores to be named to the 2009 list and the only second-year player on the District III team a year ago. The All-American pitcher earned All-SEC Conference First-Team and NFCA/Louisville Slugger All-Southeast Region First-Team honors this season while moving up in UF record books. The righty, who leads the SEC with 32 wins, sits in fourth with 534 career strikeouts and second with 191 strikeouts looking, while her 74 career wins is tied for second. She was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll as a sophomore and earned SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll status her first year as a Gator.
The honors are the ninth and 10th for Florida softball as seven Gators have earned the prestigious accolades. In 2009, four student-athletes were named Academic All-Americans, the most in the program's history. Since Walton's arrival in 2006, UF softball players have racked up seven honors. Former pitcher Stacey Nelson earned Academic All-American of the Year last season.
Six SEC student-athletics earned the academic honor, as Florida was the only conference school to garner two awards. Mississippi State's Chelsea Bramlett was named Academic All-American of the Year. Cornell, Baylor and Tennessee-Martin were the other schools to list two student-athletes on the Academic All-American team.
To be eligible for All-American status, players must have been named to the first-team All-District and have at least a 3.30 GPA with at least sophomore standing, both academically and athletically, and completed at least two semesters at current institution. They also must have played in at least 50 percent of the team's games.
For the complete list of ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans, please visit www.cosida.com.
