Scholars in the classroom and standouts on the softball diamond for four seasons, Linfield University's Brynn Nelson and Kaili Saathoff were honored once more on Tuesday by the College Sports Communicators with positions on the prestigious 2025 NCAA Division III Academic All-America Team.
 
The recent Linfield graduates helped propel the Wildcats softball team to a 45-7 record, the No. 3 national ranking in the final NFCA Top 25 poll, and a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships last month in Bloomington, Illinois. Nelson and Saathoff are among seven repeat selections and the only two to hail from the same university.
 
A second baseman from Bonney Lake, Washington, Nelson graduated with a 3.97 GPA while majoring in economics and mathematics. She received first team Academic All-America accolades for the second straight year while also earning All-District recognition as a sophomore in 2023. Nelson becomes Linfield's fourth two-time CSC Academic All-American in softball.
 
On the field, Nelson enjoyed another exceptional season, hitting .419 while hitting a 10 home runs, 75 hits, nine doubles, 16 walks and 58 RBIs while posting a .637 on-base percentage. She earned first team NFCA All-America and All-Region honors and was a first team all-Northwest Conference selection.
 
Saathoff was named to the Academic All-America second team, becoming the first Linfield student-athlete in any sport to be accorded three CSC Academic All-America awards. A three time Elite 90 Award winner, honoring the top student-athlete athlete at the NCAA Championships, Saathoff was honored last spring as the CSC Division III Softball Academic All-American of the Year.
 
In May, Saathoff was named Linfield University's Outstanding Senior in Physics as well as being singled out as the Most Valuable Player of the McMinnville Super Regional.
 
Saathoff earned two bachelor's degrees in both mathematics and physics from Linfield during four years as a Wildcat, graduating with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Playing first base, she started all 53 contests, hitting .392 with a career-high seven home runs while adding 15 stolen bases, nine doubles, one triple, 47 RBI and 64 runs scored. Kaili is the daughter of Bob and Kris Saathoff.
 
Eight of the 33 members of the 2025 Academic All-America Division III softball teams posted perfect 4.0 GPAs in their undergraduate work or graduate school. The 12 members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.88.
 
Joining Saathoff and Nelson as repeat selections on the Academic All-America Division III softball team are KaiLi Gross (Case Western Reserve University), Alexis Michon (Trine University), Jess Pozezinski (Concordia University Wisconsin), Mary Frances Eillis (East Texas Baptist University), and Mackenzie Bivin (MIT).