EWING, N.J. - TCNJ softball's Maya Knasiak has been named a College Sports Communicators (CSC) Third Team Academic All-American, as announced by the organization this afternoon. The junior is the 22nd Academic All-American in program history.
 
Knasiak was named to the Academic All-District Team for the second year in a row this past May, a distinction awarded to student-athletes who have a minimum 3.50 GPA and meet high athletic standards. A select group of student-athletes then advance to the national ballot where CSC members vote on Academic All-America teams, with the junior earning a spot on the Third Team.
 
A mechanical engineering major with a 3.79 GPA, Knasiak put together a historic campaign en route to First Team NFCA All-America, All-Region and NJAC Pitcher of the Year honors. The junior was dominant in the circle, ending the regular season ranked in the top 10 in all of Division III in shutouts (1st / 10), WHIP (2nd / 0.60), hits allowed per seven innings (2nd / 3.03), ERA (6th / 0.86) and strikeouts (7th / 150).
 
Knasiak's 10 shutouts still serve as the most DIII despite not competing in the NCAA Tournament, a feat that comes largely due to a stretch of 60 consecutive scoreless innings – including six straight complete-game shutouts – tossed by the junior from March 7 to April 7.
 
What further separated Knasiak from other top pitchers in the nation was her added prowess at the plate, where she finished the regular season slashing .403/.452/.727 with career-best marks in hits (31), RBIs (25), runs (11), doubles (8) and home runs (5). The junior entered postseason play as one of just eight players in all of Division III with at least 100 innings pitched and five home runs, helping Knasiak end the year with more RBIs at the plate (25) than earned runs allowed in the circle (14).
 
Knasiak finished her junior campaign with a 15-4 record including postseason play, tossing 14 complete games while fanning a single-season program record 174 batters in 139 innings of work. The junior added a team-best 1.068 OPS at the plate to round out one of the most complete seasons in program history.