One week after graduating from EMU in just three years, two-sport player Beck Hoskins (Danville, Va./Westover Christian Academy) has been named to the Google Cloud District 5 Academic All-District Team. The award recognizes her work both in the athletic and academic spheres at Eastern Mennonite University.
Hoskins earned a spot on an 11-woman group of softball players from the district, which covers much of the southeastern part of the United States. She is now eligible for CoSIDA’s Academic All-America voting.
“It is an honor to receive this award especially considering how competitive it is in college,” Hoskins said. “EMU provided a great environment for me to thrive academically and athletically. The professors were always willing to work with my athletic schedule and also came to support me on the court and field. The coaches also encouraged excellence in the classroom and on the team. I have already combined the lessons I have learned in the classroom setting with the lessons I learned from sports in my summer internship.”
Hoskins, who was a three-year starter for both EMU’s softball and volleyball teams, has an internship with the Danville-Pittsylvania Community Services – Developmental Services Division. She plans to earn a Master’s in Social Work from Radford University.
A social work major with a minor in coaching, Hoskins held a 3.98 GPA. She batted .315 as a senior and was second on the team with 21 runs and 10 walks. The outfielder added 15 RBIs and a team-best seven stolen bases. She was an All-ODAC Third Team selection in 2017, and finishes with career totals of a .319 batting average, 70 runs, 41 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. On the volleyball team, she racked up 344 kills and 154 blocks as a middle hitter.
On campus, Hoskins was a Campus Activities Council team member and marketing director, Royal Ambassador and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee member. She also worked three years with Harrisonburg Special Olympics and brought a large regional event onto campus as a senior.
She studied in Kenya last summer as part of EMU’s cross-cultural program.
Softball coach J.D. McCurdy said the award was fitting for Hoskins, who was also named the team’s most valuable player.
“Beck has always been dedicated to academic excellence and was a mentor to many on our softball team,” explained McCurdy. “Beck is the total package academically, an outstanding leader, athlete and a great example of EMU’s core values. She will be a great ambassador of EMU!”
The criteria for the All-District program states that a player must be of sophomore academic standing, be a starter or important reserve and claim a GPA of at least 3.30 on a 4.0 scale. Eastern Mennonite is a member of District 5, which includes players from NCAA D-III institutions in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Hoskins was one of five women from the Old Dominion Athletic Conference honored on the 11-woman team from District 5.