Budz Earns Academic All-America Honor

Courtesy of Dominican University

RIVER FOREST, Ill. -- The 2012 Capital One Academic All-America Division III Softball Teams were released on Tuesday morning, with Dominican University's Sarah Budz (Orland Park, Ill.) garnering a repeat selection, this time earning spot on the First Team.

A May 2012 graduate from Dominican University with an undergraduate degree in Nutrition and Dietetic, Budz was a 2011 Second Team Academic All-America selection.  For her career, the two-sport athlete maintained a 3.79 cumulative grade point average while lettering four years with both the women's basketball team and softball team. On the diamond this season, Budz earned All-Northern Athletics Conference First Team and NFCA Second Team All-Region honors after batting .368 with four homers, 27 RBI, 14 doubles, 20 walks and 15 stolen bases. Budz led the NAC in walks and ranked in the top ten in the conference in runs (32), hits (49), doubles, home runs, total bases (75), stolen bases, on-base percentage (.452) and slugging percentage (.564).

The award is the latest in a long line of accomplishments for the Orland Park native.  Budz is a four-time All-NAC First Teamer with the 2011 NAC Player of the Year award to her credit.  She made back-to-back appearances on the NFCA Great Lakes All-Region Team, including a First Team honor in 2011 and a NFCA All-American Third Team selection last season.  She was named Dominican University's Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year in April and is on the ballot for the University's Female Athlete of the Year, an award she won in 2011.

In addition to her individual accomplishments, Budz was a part of two historic turnarounds with the Stars, amassing a 162-110 combined record on the softball diamond and basketball court.  Prior to her arrival, neither team had a winning season since joining the NCAA Division III ranks in 2000, but Budz was a part of six winning seasons with the two programs including back-to-back NAC South Division championships on the women's basketball court in 2011 and 2012.  On the softball diamond, the Stars played in two NAC Tournament championships, including this season when Budz led the Stars to the championship round while her Dominican University classmates walked across the graduation stage.