AUSTIN, Texas – Senior pitcher Julie Graf became the St. Olaf College softball program's first-ever College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America selection as she was named to the Academic All-America Third Team on Tuesday.

Graf was one of six pitchers in NCAA Division III named to one of the three Academic All-America teams and one of six Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) student-athletes among the 34 honorees from across the country. She is also the 12th Academic All-America honoree in school history and the fourth in the last two years.

A three-time All-MIAC honoree, three-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region selection and 2017 NFCA Second Team All-American, Graf has made 106 appearances (81 starts) in her career at St. Olaf and has recorded a 59-29 record with a 1.40 ERA. She holds the school and MIAC all-time records with 920 strikeouts in 550 innings and ranks 23rd in NCAA Division III history in the category.

At the conclusion of the spring, Graf led all pitchers at all levels of the NCAA in career strikeouts per seven innings (11.71) and ranked third in career strikeouts. Among active NCAA Division III pitchers, Graf ranks second in five categories (appearances, starts, innings pitched, wins and strikeouts) and was sixth in two more (ERA and shutouts). Through six appearances (four starts) this season, Graf was 4-0 with a 0.79 ERA and ranked eighth in the country with 62 strikeouts in just 26.2 innings of work.

Academically, Graf is double-majoring in exercise science and psychology and holds a 3.54 cumulative GPA. Last spring, she was named to the MIAC Academic All-Conference team and earned Easton NFCA Scholar-Athlete honors. She was named a CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree last month to advance to the Academic All-America ballot.

In order to be eligible for Academic All-District and Academic All-America honors, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his/her current institution, have completed one full calendar year at his/her current institution, and have reached sophomore athletic eligibility. Due to the cancellation of most of the spring season, the nominating/voting process relied on career statistics in place of current season statistics this year.