Kami Anson named Academic All-American in softball
GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College’s softball team established multiple milestones in 2023, and now one Pioneers has added to that list in prestigious fashion.
Kambria Anson ’24 today earned one of the biggest honors a college student-athlete can earn – a spot on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America® Team. Anson, a standout center fielder from Chandler, Ariz. (Chandler), collected third-team honors in the NCAA Division III category.
Anson is one of just 37 players, and the only one from the Midwest Conference, to be honored at the Division III level. She is one of 14 players on the third team, while the first and second teams each had 12 and 11 selections, respectively.
Besides being Grinnell’s first softball player to earn Academic All-America® recognition, she is just the 27th Pioneer overall to be honored. Anson is just the second student-athlete at Grinnell to be named Academic All-America® in a women’s sport in nearly 10 years.
The Academic All-America Team® recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The squad is selected by members of the College Sports Communicators (formerly College Sports Information Directors of America, or CoSIDA), including Grinnell Sports Information Director Ted Schultz.
The psychology major was not only this year’s MWC Elite 20 Winner in 2023, but also an All-MWC selection for the second year in a row.
With still a season to play, Anson ranks second for career stolen bases at Grinnell with 30, is sixth in triples with seven and 10th in batting average at .349. She stole 15 bases this season, fourth in Grinnell’s record book, and her success rate of .882 (15-of-17) ranks ninth. Anson hit .368 in 2023 with a double, four triples, 16 RBIs and 23 runs scored. She also was stellar in the outfield, committing just two errors in 40 games.
