Independent file photos Left: SMSU’s Emma Grote catches a fly ball during their game against Winona State on April 11. Right: SMSU’s Kali Tomlinson throws to first during their game against the University of Mary on April 26.

MARSHALL — Southwest Minnesota State University senior softball players Emma Grote and Kali Tomlinson have both been named to the 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District® 7 softball team released on Thursday. The selection and announcement were made by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.

It’s the third straight year Grote has earned CoSIDA Academic All-District accolades and the first for Tomlinson. Grote and Tomlinson are two of 14 selected to this year’s all-district team and will now both advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® ballot, where first, second and third team All-Academic honorees will be selected in late July.

District 7 is made up of member schools from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC).

A native of Blair, Neb., Grote carried a 3.98 GPA in exercise science. This season she started all 47 games and batted .369 with four doubles, scored 35 runs and finished with 15 RBIs. A four-time Academic All-NSIC, Grote finished her career batting .324 in 188 career games with 205 hits. She ranks fourth in team history in hits and fourth in runs scored with 124.

Tomlinson, a native of Las Vegas, Nev., finished with a 3.56 GPA, while earning her bachelor’s degree in elementary education 2020. She is currently in graduate school at SMSU. Tomlinson earned All-NSIC second team honors this spring batting a team-high .394 with a school record 17 doubles. She also clubbed 12 home runs and finished with 43 RBIs. Tomlinson closed her career ranking first in team history with a .621 slugging percentage and also ranks second in doubles (42), third in home runs (30), fourth in RBIs (123) and tied for fifth in hits (199).

For more information about CoSIDA’s Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com or the Academic All-America® home page on CoSIDA.com.

— Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications