AUSTIN, Texas – Oregon Tech guard Olivia Sprague earned the highest honor for a student-athlete for the second-straight year, earning NAIA Women’s Basketball Academic All-America honors, announced by the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA).
The junior, from Clatskanie, was a member of the 5-player second-team – selected from a panel of athletic communication professionals across the United States and Canada. The dental hygiene major is one of two player to repeat as Academic All-Americans – joined by Grace Beyer of the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy.
To earn the distinction, a student-athlete must be nominated by their school’s sports information department. The player must be a sophomore, junior or senior in academic standing, maintain a 3.50 grade point average or higher and be a starter or key reserve on the team. To earn a spot on the final Academic All-America ballot, a nominee must be selected to their respective Academic All-District first-team.
Sprague averaged 17.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game – converting 65 3-point field goals and making 86-percent of her free throw attempts – earning third-team NAIA All-America honors. Her 572 points scored on the season marked the most by an OIT player since women’s basketball returned in 2002, with Sprague scoring 20-or-more points in a game 11 times.
The 2-time All-American and 2-time All-Cascade Conference selection heads into the 2024-25 season having scored 1,344 points, recording 459 rebounds, 306 assists and 179 steals in her three seasons at OIT.
College Sports Communicators NAIA Women’s Basketball Academic All-America Team
First-team: Grace Beyer (UHSP), Sandra Cannady (Loyola), Lilli Frasure (Indiana Wesleyan), Ashlee Maldonado (Providence), Jaime Pickens (Carroll)
Second-team: Olivia Sprague (OIT), Jessica Carrothers (Indiana-Northwest), Mak Hatcliff (Doane), Bekki Kalaydjiev (Southeastern)
