GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Three Colorado Mesa University softball student-athletes have been named to the 2025 NCAA Division II Academic All-District® teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, which recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the courts and in the classroom.
The Mavericks selections include
Ally Distler, named for the third time, repeat selection
Preslee Christensen and Maverick newcomer
Sophia Tassinari.
To be eligible for nomination for Academic All-District® honors, student-athletes must be a sophomore or above and have a 3.50 or cumulative higher GPA. Positional players must have also played in 90 percent of their institution's games or must have started 66 percent of them. Pitchers are eligible if they made at least 17 appearances or pitched 35 innings.
Notably, Distler and Christesen have also been selected to appear on the ballot for potential first, second and third-team Academic All-America® honors, which will be voted on by CSC members and announced on June 17. Those advanced to the Academic All-America® ballot have both elite athletic and academic accomplishments.
Distler has already received two previous Academic All-America® accolades, including first team honors in 2024 and second team plaudits as a junior in 2022. She was also tabbed as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Academic Player of the Year for the third time in her career this season. She also won the RMAC's Summit Award twice.
A native of Littleton, Colorado, Distler completed her bachelor's degree in psychology with a perfect 4.00 GPA and holds the same mark in her physical therapy graduate coursework.
The catcher and utility player started all 57 of the Mavs' games in 2025 and hit 16 home runs in 2025 and finished her Maverick career with 60 to rank second in program history. She also finished with 208 career RBIs, fourth most in program history. In 2025, she finished fourth in the RMAC with 56 RBIs and was third in home runs.
Distler was named to the Second Team All-South Central Region by both the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) this year and was a 3-time all-region pick by both organizations throughout her career. She also earned Second Team D2CCCA All-America honors in 2024 and was a 4-time First Team All-RMAC selection.
Christensen, a senior pitcher from Heber City, Utah, majored in accounting and holds a 3.65 GPA.
She finished second in the RMAC statistics for earned run average (2.00) and WHIP (Walks Plus Hits/Innings Pitched) at 1.09 and was named to the 2025 All-RMAC Tournament Team after leading the Mavericks to the championship game following a second place finish in the regular season standings.
She was named as the RMAC Pitcher of the Year in 2024 and was a First Team D2CCA and Second Team NFCA All-South Central Region selection last year. She finished the 2-year Maverick portion of her career with a 30-12 record and 2.18 ERA, the third best career ERA in program history.
Tassinari, who joined the Maverick program in 2024-25 after playing as a freshman at Chico State, is majoring in business marketing and has a 3.55 GPA. She is a native of Chandler, Arizona and registered a 3.92 ERA and a 5-3 record in 19 appearances spanning 55 1/3 total innings this season.
