AUSTIN, Texas – Alabama A&M junior Dariauna Lewis (Omaha, Neb.) has been recognized as one of the 15 best student-athletes in the nation in her sport as she has been named a CoSIDA Women's Basketball Academic All-America Third-Team selection as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Friday, May 28.
 
Not only is Lewis in select company among her peers as this is one of the toughest honors of this type to earn due to the extremely small nature of the team, she also joins a short list among her fellow Bulldogs.
 
She becomes just the fourth A&M student-athlete to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors but is the first to do so in 29 years, making her the first at the NCAA Division I level as well as the first women to accomplish the feat.
 
The other three all came out of the Bulldog football program, beginning with Tim McCannelly in 1979-80 (Second-Team) and culminating with back-to-back First-Team selections by quarterback Tracy Kendall in 1989-90 and 1990-91.
 
Including the 17 individuals selected to the men's Academic All-America Team, Lewis is both the only selection from a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) school or a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) among of any of the 32 individuals selected.
 
Lewis was one of two honorees out of the highly competitive District 4, with the other being Aliyah Boston of South Carolina, who became the first sophomore to be named Academic All-America of the Year. Joining Boston on the First-Team were Kailey Coffey (Northern Kentucky), Vivian Gray (Texas Tech), Lexie Hull (Stanford) and Sam Thomas (Arizona).
 
The Second-Team was comprised of Dana Evans (Louisville), Ayoka Lee (Kansas State), Ali Patberg (Indiana), Myah Selland (South Dakota State) and Kiana Williams (Stanford) while Lewis was joined on the Third-Team by Laura Bagwell Katalinich (Minnesota), Conley Chinn (Belmont), Elissa Cunane (North Carolina State) and Lainey Gosnell (Appalachian State).
 
DARIAUNA LEWIS' CAREER CREDENTIALS
Being judged upon career numbers in addition to her cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) due to scheduling vagaries caused by COVID-19, Lewis excelled in both areas and her efforts were rewarded with her inclusion among the top women's basketball student-athletes in the country.
 
A biology major, she entered the spring semester with an impressive 3.77 GPA and has also earned spots on the SWAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and SWAC All-Academic Team in 2019-20, in addition to the AAMU Athletic Director's Honor Roll in 2019 and 2020.
 
A double-double threat the moment she set foot on the court, Lewis has career averages of 16.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 1.3 steals and 1.0 assists per game and has shot .630 from the field in 47 career games and starts with the Bulldogs.
 
It is performances like those that have garnered her multiple of high-level honors, including National Player of the Year by Black College Sports Network (BCSN) in 2020-21, three First-Team All-American awards (BOXTOROW in 2019-20, 2020-21 and BCSN in 2020-21), SWAC Newcomer of the Year (2019-20) and All-SWAC First-Team in both years in the league.
 
On top of that, she has been named BOXTOROW National Player of the Week (2020-21) and is a seven-time SWAC Player of the Week and one-time league honoree as its Impact Player of the Week (2020-21).
 
A seemingly force of nature, Lewis has registered double-figure scoring efforts in 42 of her 47 career games, including 24 of those resulting in double-doubles. Among the latter she has a pair of 20-point, 20-rebound games and has 14 games of at least 20 points, topping out at 31 on a pair of occasions.
 
Those career numbers are highlighted by a 2020-21 season that saw her average 17.8 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and nearly an assist and steal per game while shooting .604 from the field (122-of-202).
 
Lewis registered 14 double-doubles, including nine in a row at one point, and came in second in the nation in rebounding, seventh in field goal percentage, ninth in defensive rebounds (8.8), 14^th in offensive rebounds (4.2) and 16^th in double-doubles. She also led the SWAC in rebounding and field goal percentage and was second in points and blocks per game.
 
ABOUT THE COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA PROGRAM
The 2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-America Women's Basketball Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, have been released to recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
 
To be eligible for Academic All-District and All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
 
2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-America Women's Basketball Teams

FIRST-TEAM
Name	School	Yr.	GPA	Major
Aliyah Boston	South Carolina	So.	3.81	Mass Communications
Kailey Coffey	Northern Kentucky	Sr.	4.0	Chemistry/Biochemistry
Vivian Gray	Texas Tech	Gr.	3.58/4.0	Interdisciplinary Studies
Lexie Hull	Stanford	Jr.	3.92	Management Science/Engineering
Sam Thomas	Arizona	Gr.	3.97/4.0	Pyschology (UG)/Educational Leadership (G)
SECOND-TEAM
Name	School	Yr.	GPA	Major
Dana Evans	Louisville	Sr.	3.49	Sport Administration
Ayoka Lee	Kansas State	Jr.	3.88	Psychology
Ali Patberg	Indiana	Gr.	3.71	Recreational Administration
Myah Selland	South Dakota State	Jr.	3.97	Exercise Science/Community & Publicity
Kiana Williams	Stanford	Sr.	3.38	Science, Technology & Society
THIRD-TEAM
Name	School	Yr.	GPA	Major
Laura Bagqell Katalinich	Minnesota	Gr.	3.93/4.0	Communications (UG)/Sport Management (G)
Conley Chinn	Belmont	Sr.	4.0	Psychology
Elissa Cunane	North Carolina State	Jr.	3.34	Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
Lainey Gosnell	Appalachian State	Gr.	4.0/4.0	Psychology
Dariauna Lewis	Alabama A&M	Jr.	3.77	Biology

Alabama A&M History of Academic All-America Selections (4 Selections/3 Individuals)
2020-21 – Dariauna Lewis (Women's Basketball) – Third-Team
1990-91 – Tracy Kendall (Football) – First-Team
1989-90 – Tracy Kendall (Football) – First-Team
1979-80 – Tim McCannelly (Football) – Second-Team