VWU's Hull Named Division III Softball's Academic All-American of the Year

VWU's Hull Named Division III Softball's Academic All-American of the Year

AUSTIN, Texas --- The awards case for Hanna Hull was already full, but the Virginia Wesleyan University lefty will have to make room for not one but two more honors. Hull was named a First Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Tuesday afternoon, but the recognition did not stop there. The Marlins senior also earned Academic All-American of the Year for softball.

To be eligible for Academic All-America, athletes must have earned a spot on their respective Academic All-District team. Nominees must be of sophomore academic standing, be a started or important reserve, and boast a grade point average of at least 3.30 on a 4.00 scale.

RELATED: Academic All-Americans | Academic All-District

While Hull is the ODAC's lone Academic All-American, she is one of four standouts from the conference to earn Academic All-District honors. University of Lynchburg senior shortstop Kayla Hugate joins Hull and a pair from Guilford College in senior outfielders Natalie Conrad and Kayli Scott (Blankenship).

Hull has basically rewritten the ODAC pitching record books in addition to excelling off the field. In the classroom, Hull maintained a 3.66 grade point average as a mathematics major with a business minor. She is a soon-to-be four-time honoree as an Academic All-ODAC student-athlete and has also featured on the Virginia Wesleyan President's List and Dean's List. She served as the Chief Information Officer for the C-Suite Team in the Marlin Prestige Business Conference program.

On the field, the three-time NFCA First Team All-American and two-time NFCA Divsion III Player of the Year was off to a stellar start in 2020. In 11 appearances, Hull was 8-0 with five complete games and four shutouts. She had given up just one run and allowed 20 hits in 47.1 innings in the circle. She walked 13 and fanned 66 batters while boasting a 0.15 earned run average.

Hull, who won the General Douglas MacArthur Memorial Award recognizing the Most Outstanding College Athlete who formerly attended a Virginia high school at the 2019 Norfolk Sports Club Jamboree, is one of just 24 pitchers all-time in Division III to rack up 1,000 or more career strikeouts. She owns most ODAC pitching records including wins (109) and winning percentage (.924) after going 109-9 during her career. She established new league marks in innings pitched (725.2), strikeouts (1,153), shutouts (44), and earned run average (0.68). Hull set ODAC single-season records for wins (40 in 2018), innings pitched (267.2 in 2018), strikeouts (376 in 2018), shutouts (17 in 2017), and ERA (0.51 in 2017).

In terms of NCAA records, Hull's resumé is impressive. Her 40 victories in 2018 make her one of just two pitchers in Division III history to reach the 40-win plateau. She was 40-2 that season, which is one loss better than Jennifer Segner's 2000 season for Muskingum College. Hull's 109-9 career record towards a .924 winning percentage is fourth all-time, while her 109 victories rank ninth. Hull owns two of the top-15 all-time strikeout seasons in NCAA Division III history with 376 as #13 in 2018 and 372 as #15 in 2017. Her 47 appearances in 2018 are tied for third in D-III history.

Hull announced earlier in June that she would be returning to Virginia Wesleyan to pursue a master's degree in business administration and play out her remaining season of eligibility.