NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State midfielders Abby Basler and Ashley Santos were named to the CoSIDA Academic All- District® Women's Soccer Team, as announced by the organization Thursday morning. The honor recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.
Basler and Santos are two of 75 NCAA Division I student-athletes named to the prestigious list, as well as two of six Missouri Valley Conference players. The pair now advances to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® ballot to be announced in early July.
Basler, a redshirt senior from St. Louis, is a three-time All-MVC selection and two-time MVC Scholar-Athlete Team honoree, that led the team this spring in nearly every offensive category, including goals (4), assists (3), points (11), shots (43) and shots on goal (20). The midfielder finished her career ranked top-10 at ISU in assists (6th, 16 assists), points (T-8th, 52 points) and goals (9th, 18 goals). Basler earned her degree in Elementary Education this spring and will begin her next chapter as a fourth grade teacher this upcoming school year.
Santos, a native of Falls Church, Va. is a three-time All-MVC selection, a two-time MVC Scholar-Athlete team honoree and was most recently named the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the end of the 2021 spring season. The midfielder started in all 12 games this year, playing in all but 30 minutes the entire season, and netting three goals to total six points. Santos maintained a 4.0 GPA and graduated with a degree in Mathematics this May. She will go on to pursue her master's degree in Mathematics while she finishes out her playing career this fall.
To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletic credentials and at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) in both undergraduate and graduate work. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore in athletic and academic standing at their current institution and must have completed at least one full academic year at that institution.
For all latest on Illinois State soccer, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @Redbird_Soccer (Twitter, Facebook).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
