BOONE, N.C. - App State women's basketball graduate student Lainey Gosnell was named to the 2020-21 Academic All-America Division I women's basketball team selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), the organization announced today.
Gosnell earns a spot on the third team after her stellar work off the court, where she graduated in three years with a bachelor's degree in psychology and is currently earning her master's degree in clinical mental health. The Demorest, Ga., native boasts a perfect 4.0 GPA all while playing collegiate basketball.
"Managing basketball and academics was one of the most challenging adjustments for me when I entered my freshman year of being a student-athlete, but it was one that I took very seriously," said Gosnell. "I have always worked hard in school and set high standards for what I wanted to accomplish."
This past season, Gosnell put forth the best campaign of her career. She finished second on the team in scoring, averaging a career-high 12.1 points, and grabbed a personal and team-high 7.6 rebounds per contest. Her 39-pointers were second on the team, while she played a pivotal role in the Black and Gold finishing 15-12 with a second winning season in the past three years and a second trip to the Sun Belt semifinals in the same span.
For Gosnell, she adds another accolade to her career as she was named Second-Team All-Sun Belt, CoSIDA Academic All-District and Sun Belt Player of the Week during the season.
"I want to thank my parents for instilling how important academics are as I come from a background of educators," mentioned Gosnell. :While I put a lot of work in on the court, I also spent many hours on school work in order to achieve what I have during my college career. It is such an honor to be nominated and receive this award representing App State. I can truly say I would not have been able to accomplish this outstanding honor without my support system, including my coaches, teammates and family."
She went down in the history books 15th all-time with 1,208 points and third all-time with 166 3-pointers.
2021 CoSIDA Women's Basketball Academic All-America
First Team
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
Kailey Coffey, Northern Kentucky
Vivian Gray, Texas Tech
Lexie Hull, Stanford
Sam Thomas, Arizona
Second Team
Dana Evans, Louisville
Ayoka Lee, Kansas State
Ali Patberg, Indiana
Myah Selland, South Dakota State
Kiana Williams, Stanford
Third Team
Laura Bagwell Katalinich, Minnesota
Conley Chinn, Belmont
Elissa Cunane, NC State
Lainey Gosnell, Appalachian State
Dariauna Lewis, Alabama A&M
