COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball program continues their academic excellence in the classroom as 14 Mountain Lions were named to the 2021 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-Academic Team, announced today by the league office.  Sophomore utility player Brianna Santos (San Mateo, Calif.) leads UCCS with a First Team nod, as 13 more were named to the Honor Roll: Sawyer Brewster (Burnsville, Minn.), Shae Bushey (Vail, Ariz.), Braelyne Crenshaw (Aurora, Colo.), Cami Duffey (Heath, Texas), Morgan Hernandez-Belew (Broomfield, Colo.), Taylor Humphries (Thornton, Colo.), Solana Martinez (San Diego, Calif.), Saleen Quinonez (Bryan, Texas), Lexi Rayburn (Bennett, Colo.), Peyton Reisman (Fort Collins, Colo.), Payton Romines (Panama City, Fla.), Meghan Waidler (Longmont, Colo.), and Taylor White (Fort Collins, Colo.).

Sydney Marchando of Colorado School of Mines has been named the 2021 Softball Academic Player of the Year. The RMAC First Team All-Academic members were voted on by the conference's sports information directors. To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must carry a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (GPA) and must have been an active student at the institution for at least two consecutive semesters or three consecutive quarters.

A 2021 D2CCCA All-America First Team, D2CCCA All-South Central Region First Team and an All-RMAC First Team selection, Brianna Santos excelled in the classroom and on the field. A Geography and Environmental Studies major with a 3.982 GPA, Santos competed in all 42 games, playing 26 games as a starting outfielder and 16 games as the starting catcher.  She finished the season with a .418 batting average, the 13^th highest in the region.  She collected 61 hits on 146 at-bats, scored 41 runs and drove in 45 runs.  She notched 29 extra-bases hits, 14 of which were home runs along with 10 doubles and five triples while also posting a 123 total bases, and a .842 slugging percentage.

Sawyer Brewster primarily played third base and was a designated hitter for the Mountain Lions this past season.  Also selected to the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll in 2020, Brewster is majoring in Criminal Justice with a 3.922 GPA.  She started 33 games and started 29 and finished the season with a .266 batting average behind 25 hits.  Brewster scored 13 runs and drove in 30 while hitting five doubles and seven home runs.  On April 25 in the series finale at New Mexico Highlands University, Brewster went 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored. 

A two-time member of the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll, Shae Bushey saw action in 14 games and started four in her senior season.  She tallied two hits, scored two runs and collected 28 putouts and two assists at first base.  Bushey is majoring in Business Management at UCCS and owns a 3.550 GPA.

A redshirt-sophomore pitcher, Braelyne Crenshaw is making her second appearance on the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll.  Crenshaw led the Mountain Lion pitching corps in wins (6-9), appearances (21), ERA (4.75), games started (17), complete games (eight), innings pitched (97.1) and strikeouts (74).  She pitched a complete game 5-0 shutout against Colorado School of Mines on March 20.  Crenshaw owns a 3.606 GPA in Nursing.

Earning her second straight RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll nod, senior pitcher Cami Duffey will graduate from UCCS with a Marketing major and a 3.598 GPA.  She started 13 games in the circle and appeared in 20 while pitching 74 innings.  Duffey finished the season with a 4-7 record and a 6.05 ERA.  She earned a save against Fort Lewis College on April 2 and held Adams State to one earned run in seven innings in a 7-2 road win on March 28.

Redshirt-freshman outfielder Morgan Hernandez-Belew started 40 games and played in all 42.  She tallied 22 hits, scored 16 runs and drove in six runs.  She added six doubles and a triple on the season while drawing six walks at the plate.  Hernandez-Belew recorded a season high three hits at Adams State and added two RBI and a run scored.  Defensively, she collected 34 putouts and assisted on 12 while only committing one error.  Hernandez-Belew is majoring in Criminal Justice and has a 3.436 GPA.

Redshirt sophomore Taylor Humphries owns a 3.597 GPA in Inclusive Early Childhood Education.  She appeared in 12 games primarily as a pinch runner.  Humphries recorded one hit against Black Hills State.  She finished the season going 1-for-4 at the plate with three runs scored one run batted in.

Sophomore shortstop Solana Martinez (3.873 GPA, Business major) started all 42 games this season.  She was named to the 2021 RMAC Honorable Mention Team and the RMAC Player of the Week on May 4 after going 10-for-15 with nine RBI, six runs scored, four doubles and three home runs in a four-game home series against CSU Pueblo.  This season, she batted .407 behind 55 hits while driving in 29 runs and scoring 32 times.  Twenty-four of her hits were extra base hits as she went yard 12 times and added 12 doubles.  Martinez notched 15 games with at least two hits, four games with at least three hits and three games with at least four hits.  She added a .763 slugging percentage and a .444 on-base percentage.  Defensively, Martinez tallied a .916 fielding mark behind 90 putouts and 14 assists.

Named to the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll the last three seasons, Saleen Quinonez competed in 39 games and started 38.  She finished her senior season with 28 hits, 18 runs, 10 runs batted in, four doubles, a triple and a home run.  Her home run came on March 7 against Black Hills State when she went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.  Defensively, she posted 72 putouts and 69 assists at second base as part of her .916 fielding percentage.  Quinonez is a Sport Management major with a 3.507 GPA.

Redshirt freshman pitcher Lexi Rayburn started six games in the circle for the Mountain Lions and pitched in 18 games.  She started the season with a 3-1 complete game win over Fort Lewis College on Feb. 20, holding the Skyhawks to one hit while fanning five batters and earned RMAC Pitcher of the Week honors.  She led UCCS to a 4-2 win at Adams State on March 7 after striking out 10 batters.  In 18 games, Rayburn pitched 47.1 innings and allowed 37 earned runs on 54 hits.  She went 4-3 in the circle with a 5.47 ERA and 50 strikeouts.  Rayburn is majoring in Biology at UCCS and has earned a 3.935 GPA.

Peyton Reisman started all 39 games she played in for the Mountain Lions at first base.  A 2021 RMAC All-Academic First Team honoree, Reisman has a 3.990 GPA in Inclusive Elementary Education.  She finished her third season with the Mountains collected 23 hits, 15 RBI, eight runs, four doubles, one home run and she drew 12 walks while adding three sacrifice hits.  Reisman tallied a season high three hits against Black Hills State on March 6.  She was near perfect at first base, committing only two errors while leading the league in putouts (271) and total chances (278).  Reisman ranks second in the RMAC in double-plays (10) and third in fielding percentage (.993).

Senior third baseman Payton Romines started 15 games at third base and competed in 20 games.  She batted .260 on the season after going 13-for-50 at the plate.  Romines drove in 11 runs and scored five times while hitting three home runs.  All three home runs came in a home series against Black Hills State, including two against the Yellow Jackets in the series finale on March 7.  A Nursing major with a 3.608 GPA, Romines added 15 assists and eight putouts from her third base position.

Graduate student Meghan Waidler is an Athletic Training major at UCCS with a 3.606 GPA.  She played in 38 games this season and started 35, primarily as a designated hitter.  Waidler tallied 28 hits and drove in 16 runs and scored 12 times.  She added seven and two triples while drawing 14 walks at the plate.  Against MSU Denver on April 11, she went 3-for-3 with two RBI and two doubles.

Taylor White started 26 games as a catcher and saw action in 29 in her final season with the Mountain Lions.  A graduate student with a 3.606 GPA in Athletic Training, White batted .287 at the plate with 23 hits, 16 RBI, and eight runs scored.  She added four doubles and hit three home runs.  She hit a season high three hits at Adams State on March 28, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a double.  Behind the plate, she threw out six base runners and added 112 putouts and 11 assists as part of her .978 fielding percentage.

The Mountain Lions closed the 2021 season with a 17-25 overall record and a 16-22 RMAC record.