Senior catcher Mackenzie Griffin of John Carroll University leads the 2013 Capital One Academic All-America® Division III Softball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

A communications major with a 3.72 grade point average., Griffin has been chosen as the Capital One Division III Academic All-America® of the Year award winner for softball.  She is the first student-athlete in any sport at John Carroll to receive this honor.

The Capital One Division III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structures, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2012-13 and Division III Academic All-America® teams program.

One of 11 first time selections on this year's Capital One Academic All-America® Division III Softball first team, Griffin is a 2013 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) third-team All-American and first-team All-Central Region selection. A native of Lake Oswego, Oregon, she is a three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference honoree, earning first team honors this season.

Griffin led the Blue Streaks to a pair of NCAA Division III regional appearances.  As a senior, she set a John Carroll single season record with a .548 batting average as she led the OAC in hitting. She also hit a conference record-tying 20 doubles with three homers and 43 RBI'while leading her team to a 26-13 record.

She finished her career with a .390 batting average while setting school records with 165 games played, 126 runs scored and 199 base hits.

Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN's Capital One Bowl Week.  In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot Team, all 88 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.

To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.

Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 18,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com and www.capitaloneacademicallamerica.com/