Softball's Boesel Earns Historic Academic All-America Honor

AUSTIN, TEXAS —- South Carolina softball’s Mackenzie Boesel was named a 2021 Academic All-American, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA), the national organization announced Thursday. A first-team selection, Boesel joins Alabama softball’s Bailey Hemphill as the only two recorded student-athletes from any sport in Southeastern Conference history to earn four Academic All-America honors.
 
Boesel, Hemphill and Iowa State’s Sami Williams are the first trio off NCAA softball student-athletes to be named an Academic All-American four times.
 
2021 marked the fifth-straight year Carolina has had at least one selection, the longest streak in program history.
 
“Mackenzie Boesel is extraordinary,” head coach Beverly Smith said. “Being South Carolina first four-time Academic All-American is historic. Mackenzie’s legacy is indelibly etched in South Carolina history.
 
“This recognition exemplifies the definition of a student-athlete. She worked hard for and earned this prestigious honor.”
 
In 2019, Boesel became the third player in program history earn multiple CoSIDA Academic All-America honors and the first since 2009. She’s the first in Carolina’s history to earn multiple first-team selections.
 
Her 2021 appointment to the first team follows selections to the first team in 2020 and 2019 and the third in 2018.
 
A native of Yorba Linda, Calif., Boesel graduated a year early with a degree in sport and entertainment while maintaining her 4.00 GPA through her first year of graduate school.
 
Earlier this season, Boesel notably became the first Gamecock since Alaynie Page in 2015 to earn All-America honors and is the program’s second All-American since 1999. She finished her career in 2021 hitting .416 in 52 games with 154 at-bats. She posted 47 runs with 64 hits, 16 of which were doubles. She showed off her power with six home runs on her way to 37 RBI. She drew 35 walks and three hit by pitches to earn a .528 on-base percentage. She finished the season a perfect 8-for-8 on stolen bases.
 
In conference play, she hit a team-best .384 on 28 hits with 12 runs and 15 RBI. She flashed her speed with eight doubles and slugged .575. Thanks in part to 13 walks, she finished SEC action with a .471 on-base percentage. For her efforts in league play, Boesel was named to the All-SEC Second Team.

In the South Carolina record book, Boesel finished with the most career walks, home runs, doubles, tied for the best on-base percentage and had the most assists as a second baseman.
 
For more information on Boesel and the Gamecocks, continue to check back with gamecocksonline.com.