Twelve members of the University of Illinois Springfield softball team were named 2021 Easton/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America Scholar-Athletes.
 
The NFCA academic award goes to student-athletes who achieved a 3.50 GPA or higher for the 2020-21 school year. The Pairie Stars who earned the honor were Kelsie Burrows, Natalie Cokel, Danielle Dennis, Evey Evans, Carolyn Franke, Emma Garcia, Laney Gowin, Grace Harris, Ashley Klinzing, Lindsay LaDere, Reagan Miles, and Calla Wickenhauser.
 
The UIS softball team had a 3.55 team GPA last season, and earned the GLVC Team Academic All-Conference award, an honor it has now received for eight consecutive years.