(SAN DIEGO) PLNU Women's Soccer defender
Naomi Ellis was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America® Third Team, as announced on Wednesday.
The award is voted on by CSC members for a combination of academic and athletic excellence.
Players are eligible to be nominated for the award if they have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50, are at least a sophomore academically and athletically, and competed in 90% of the team's games (or started in at least two-thirds of contests).
Ellis, who has a 4.0 GPA in her Master of Business Administration program after finishing her undergraduate career with a 4.0 GPA in graphic design, is the second Sea Lion to earn Academic All-America® honors and first since Claire Mathews in 2014.
The senior defender played a crucial role in PLNU's backline that kept 12 shutouts on the year, including 10 in 11 PacWest games, while also serving as a valuable member of the team's attack with six assists.
This year, she was named to the All-PacWest First Team before being voted to the D2CCA and United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Second Teams. She became the second ever player to earn All-PacWest honors five times.
In 2023, Ellis was awarded the prestigious Elite 90 Award at the 2023 NCAA Championships for having the highest GPA of any competitor at the final site.
Point Loma finished the season with a 17-3-1 overall record, which included a fifth PacWest regular season title in six seasons, the inaugural PacWest Tournament championship and an NCAA West Regional championship appearance.
