SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara softball players Taryn Clements, Leiora Davidson, Cari Ferguson and Elle Merlino has been named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District.
The 2026 Academic All-District Softball teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the diamond and in the classroom.
Eligible nominees must have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average and must compete in 90 percent of the games played or must start in at least 66 percent of the games. For pitchers, a student-athlete must have made at least 17 appearances or pitched 35 innings.
It is the second CSC Academic All-District recognition for Clements and the first for Davidson, Ferguson and Merlino.
Clements has a cumulative GPA of 3.885 while majoring in neuroscience. A second team All-WCC and WCC All-Academic Team selection this season, she batted .273 with a .417 on-base percentage in 45 games. Forty of the starts came behind the dish where the 2025 WCC Defensive Player of the Year threw out 12 would-be base stealers. In 17 WCC games, Clements slashed .366/.500/.634 to rank in the top-10 in each category.
Davidson has a 3.782 GPA majoring in public health science with a minor in sociology and was named WCC All-Academic honorable mention for the third time. The senior started in 40 of the 43 games she appeared in primarily at first base and finished atop the Santa Clara record book with a .992 career fielding percentage. This season, Davidson was second on the team with three home runs and third in RBIs with 21.
Ferguson, with a 3.776 GPA in finance, was also a second team All-WCC and WCC All-Academic Team selection. This spring, she went 12-11 with a 2.72 ERA, 10 complete games and three shutouts. The Long Beach, California native led the conference in starts (23) and innings pitched (139.0) and was second in complete games (10) and strikeouts (95). In WCC games, Ferguson tied for the league-lead in wins with six.
Merlino, a WCC All-Academic Team honoree, has a 3.862 GPA in public health science. The sophomore batted .263 with a pair of home runs playing the hot corner position. She appeared in 48 games and started in 46.
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