NATCHITOCHES – Twenty-eight Northwestern State student-athletes posted 4.0 grade point averages, highlighting 103 NSU competitors who earned inclusion on the Southland Conference Commissioner's Spring Honor Roll, the conference office announced Wednesday.
 
The Demon baseball team had nine players record a perfect mark in the spring semester – freshman pitcher J.C. Acosta, junior pitcher Drayton Brown, freshman third baseman Michael Dattalo, junior outfielder Jacob Farrell, junior pitcher Dawson Flowers, senior pitcher Ethan Francis, junior infielder Jake Haze, junior infielder Cole Hill and junior pitcher Tim O'Connor.
 
Eight Lady Demon softball players – junior outfielder Makenzie Chaffin, junior infielder Tristin Court, junior infielder Keely Dubois, sophomore outfielder Vivica Hernandez, freshman pitcher Haley Parker, senior pitcher Bronte Rhoden, junior pitcher Kenzie Seely and junior catcher Ashlyn Walker – hit the 4.0 mark during their season of competition.
 
Half of the eight Northwestern State tennis players – sophomore Ayu Ishibashi, junior Gig Kanaphuet, junior Mariella Minetti and sophomore Paige Wise -- were perfect in the classroom.
 
Five total track and field athletes – three from the women's side and two from the men's – nailed down 4.0 GPAs in the spring. A pair of junior pole vaulters, Madison Brown and Karlyn Trahan, were joined by freshman distance runner Carolin Bielert as Lady Demons who were 4.0 students in the spring.
 
Junior distance runner John Klein and sophomore sprinter Evan Wilson were the men's track squad's 4.0 representatives.
 
Each of the NSU basketball teams produced a 4.0 student-athlete – sophomore guard Isaac Haney from the men's team and freshman guard Ivona Miljanic from the Lady Demons.
 
All eight Northwestern State tennis players were named to the honor roll, which is comprised of Southland Conference student-athletes who recorded at least a 3.0 grade point average in the semester of competition.
 
While the tennis team matched its 100 percent success rate from the 2022 season, three of NSU seven spring sports saw an increase in the percentage of their competitors named to the honor roll. The women's track and field squad enjoyed the biggest leap as 85.2 percent of its competitors hit the 3.0 mark – an increase of 18.6 percent.
 
The women's basketball team bumped its percentage of honor roll members up 14.3 percent to 71.4 while men's track and field increased by 5.2 percent.
 
Overall, 61 of Northwestern State's 168 spring student-athletes had at least a 3.5 GPA – comprising 36.3 percent of its competitors. Overall, the 103 members of the honor roll made up 61.3 percent of NSU student-athletes who compete in the spring semester.