Jaspers Selected As Second Team Verizon Academic All-America
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State junior first baseman Kate Jaspers was among 33 players selected for the Verizon Academic All-America squads released Friday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Jaspers, a second team selection, was one of two Southeastern Conference athletes to be named to the squads, joining Kentucky catcher Lyndsey Angus on the second squad. Former Mississippi State standout Keri McCallum is the only other Bulldog to don such honors, earning first team accolades following the 2000 campaign.
"This is a fantastic recognition for Kate," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "She is an exemplary student-athlete and puts a tremendous amount of effort into her studies, as well as softball. Her commitment to academic, as well as athletic excellence, serves as an example of what a student-athlete should be."
Jaspers, a Psychology major at MSU, turned in her sixth-consecutive 4.0 GPA at the close of the Spring, 2003 semester. An academic all-conference selection this season, Jaspers has earned academic distinction from other organizations as well. She was lauded as the SEC Worldspan Student-Athlete of the Week during MSU?s regionally televised game at Georgia on March 24, 2002, and, most recently, earned the Mississippi State athletic department?s Newsome Award as the top academic female athlete for the 2002-03 school year.
A .323 hitter for the Bulldogs this season, Jaspers tallied 16 multiple-hit games and four multiple RBI games for the Maroon and White in its run to a second-straight NCAA Regional appearance and its third in four seasons. She accounted for five gamewinning runs during the campaign and earned MSU?s Player of the Week award after turning in a .500 series at Florida, including three extra-base hits, three RBI and four runs scored. She also earned the distinction of having the only four-hit game this season, tallying a 4-for-5 hitting night with a trio of runs scored in a 15-13 loss to LSU on March 26.