CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois softball saw five different players earn College Sports Communicators (CSC, formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors, the association announced on Tuesday.
Stevie Meade, Kelly Ryono, Sydney Sickels, Avrey Steiner and Megan Ward took home Academic All-District recognition. It was each player's first honor by the organization.
Meade, a Interdisciplinary Health Sciences major, closed out the season batting .295 after starting all 56 games for the Orange and Blue. The sophomore posted a squad-best 11 doubles, adding three triples and three homers to accompany her .452 slugging percentage. Against Big Ten opponents, Meade, batted .328 with a team-high 22 hits. As a freshman, Meade was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team.
Ryono, a masters student studying Kinesiology, earned her first-ever conference accolades this year after she was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native led the Fighting Illini with a .352 batting average and a .619 slugging percentage. Ryono tallied 48 RBI, tying for ninth in the record books for a single season. Her 12 home runs were a squad-best and included her first collegiate grand slam. Ryono was previously named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar earlier this year.
Sickels, a masters student studying Recreation, Sport, and Tourism, closed out her career as the program's strikeout's leader with 714 for her five-year career. The Indianola, Iowa, native also ranks first in the record books for strikeouts looking (204) and saves (19). Sickels threw two no-hitters while donning the Orange and Blue. This season, she broke her own single game strikeouts record when she fanned 21 batters in a 6-4 nine-inning defeat of Fordham. Sickels was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team and the NFCA All-Region Second Team in 2022.
Steiner, a masters student studying Management, finished her final season with the Illini batting .302 on the year. The second baseman tallied nine extra base hits including three triples. During her career at Illinois, Steiner was an All-Big Ten First Team selection in 2022 and earned NFCA all-region honors on two separate occasions. The Fowler, Ohio, native played in 229 games, ranking sixth all-time at Illinois, starting 222, tying for eighth in the record books. Her 693 career at bats ranks eighth while her 231 hits puts Steiner in fifth all-time. For her career at Illinois, Steiner ranks ninth with a .333 batting average and her 31 double plays turned rank tied for 10th.
Ward, a Kinesiology major, started all 56 games at shortstop for Illinois. She finished the year batting .286 wih44 hits including 11 for extra bases. Ward was second on the team in batting during conference play, posting a .338 average with a team-best 22 hits including a pair of doubles. Ward logged 19 RBI for her junior season, including eight RBI in league play.
All five Illini players are eligible for CSC Academic All-America honors, which will be announced by the organization on June 6.
