For the seventh-straight year, the Spanish Fort Toros were recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association with a Team Academic Award to honor the student-athletes’ efforts in the classroom.

Spanish Fort was among over 1,400 teams from the college and high school ranks who “maintained a year-long grade-point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (or 4.1 on a 5.0 scale) to earn the award for their classroom excellence during the recently completed academic year,” it says on the AVCA website.

In addition, the Toros’ team GPA was among the top 20% of programs in their division and they earned a spot on the Team Academic Honor Roll for the fourth year in a row.

Players recognized from Spanish Fort’s 2023-24 roster included Zoe Beech, Cailyn Boykin, Delaney Clough, Caroline Downey, Victoria Holley, Taylor Ishmael, Anna Grace Thomas, Alyssa Hattenstein, Reece Varden, Abigail Lambert, Alexis Belarmino, Carlyn McAlister, Mary Madison Lyles, Harper Trucks and Elyse McKinney.

“We are pleased that the record-setting success of the 2023-24 season on the court has extended to the classroom, too, as evidenced by more programs earning the AVCA Team Academic Award than ever before,” AVCA CEO Jaime Gordon said. “This is a great example of how committed our coaches are when it comes to helping their players reach their full potential as both students and athletes.”

Across Alabama, 19 high school teams were recognized with the Team Academic Award where eight others joined Spanish Fort on the Team Academic Honor Roll. The Toros were the lone Baldwin County team honored with the Team Academic Award but joined schools across the Bay including McGill-Toolen Catholic, Mobile Christian, Satsuma and St. Luke’s Episcopal.

From the collegiate level, seven Division I schools, two Division II schools and one school each from Division III, NAIA and NJCAA represented Alabama with Team Academic Award honors. Montevallo (DII) collected its 16th-straight recognition.

College beach programs at UAB, North Alabama, Spring Hill College and Huntingdon College also earned the AVCA’s Team Academic Award where the two DI universities also made the Team Academic Honor Roll.