MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - Thanks to their combination of athletic and academic prowess, Penn State Harrisburg women's basketball players Kendis Butler and Jayla Galbreath have earned College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honors.
Butler and Galbreath are the first players in program history to earn the prestigious distinction. The pair joins former baseball standouts Bret Williams and Drew Harshbarger, as well as men's and women's soccer players Luke Myers, Sydney Hemler, and Sarah Toche-Manley, as Penn State Harrisburg student-athletes to earn CSC (formerly CoSIDA) recognition.
The CSC Academic All-District Women's Basketball Team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America program separately recognizes basketball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA.
One of the most decorated players in program history, Butler is the NCAA Division III active leader in 3-point field goals. The York, Pa. native currently ranks 19th across all three NCAA divisions with 293 career triples and her 3-point total ranks 26th all-time in Division III history. The versatile guard was named to the City of Basketball Love (CoBL) All-Area Second Team a year ago after earning back-to-back United East All-Conference First-Team honors following her sophomore and junior campaigns. Earlier this season, the senior became Penn State Harrisburg's all-time leading scorer (1,265 points) and she holds numerous program records, including career field goals (379), points in a single season (424), and points in a single game (33). This winter, she is averaging 9.5 points, a career-high 3.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per contest to go along with a career-best 1.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. A three-year team captain, Butler has also been outstanding in the classroom throughout her career, earning four straight conference all-academic awards dating back to her rookie campaign. The Communications major and American Studies minor holds a stellar 3.96 cumulative GPA.
Galbreath is in the midst of another strong campaign that's seen her average 10.0 points, 2.4 assists, 2.2 rebounds, and a career-high 1.5 steals per game to go along with a career-best 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio as the team's floor general. The senior recently moved into ninth place on the program's all-time scoring list with 745 career points and she holds multiple program records, including career 3-point percentage (40.9) and career free throw percentage (77.5). The Shrewsbury, Pa. native was named a United East All-Conference Second-Team selection following a memorable junior season and she's been consistently successful in the classroom since enrolling at Penn State Harrisburg. The three-year team captain is a three-time United East Scholar-Athlete honoree dating back to her rookie year and she holds an impressive 3.53 cumulative GPA as a Security and Risk Analysis major.
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