University of Illinois Springfield softball player Danielle Dennis was named a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American this week. She is the second softball player in program history to be named an Academic All-American, and the third athlete among all the sports programs at UIS to be a first-team honoree.
 
Dennis was an all-conference and all-region performer for the Prairie Stars this past season. She led the nation in sacrifice flies, and was also top-100 in doubles and on-base percentage. In the GLVC, she ranked third in doubles, ninth in on-base percentage, fifth in runs, and sixth in steals.
 
Dennis tied a school record with 40 RBI, and scored 44 times. She had a .381 batting average, .626 slugging percentage, and .472 on-base percentage. She collected 53 hits, including 15 doubles, two triples, and five home runs., and she stole 19 bases.
 
Dennis has been named CoSIDA Academic All-District twice in her career. She has also won two GLVC Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Awards, and twice been named to the GLVC Academic All-Conference team.