CLINTON, Miss. --- Mississippi College's Londyn Bakeris and Ali Wiggins were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team as announced by the group on Tuesday, Dec. 12.
 
Bakeris and Wiggins helped direct the Blue and Gold to the GSC Tournament for the fourth consecutive season and the 14th in the program's history. Bakeris, native of Olive Branch, Miss., is a Kinesiology major with a concentration in Exercise Science while Wiggins hails from Enterprise, Ala., and is seeking her degree in General Kinesiology.
 
Wiggins paced the squad in assists during the season and ranked among the top five on the team in service aces and digs. Bakeris finished second on the team in digs and finished fourth on the team in assists.
 
The two Choctaws are among 25 student-athletes from the Gulf South Conference that made up the over 500-member list of NCAA Division II programs.
 
Bakeris and Wiggins become the fourth student-athletes under head coach Shawna Laurendine to earn the recognition. Lexie Laurendine and Kendall Platt received the award last season for their performances on and off the court.
 
The 2023 Academic All-District® Volleyball teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. Nominees must have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average. In addition, fall sport candidates must compete in 90 percent of their team's games/sets or must start in at least 66 percent contests/sets. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes volleyball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
 
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2022-23 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA governance structure.