General 9/15/2021 5:45:00 PM Adam Stanek - MACU Sports Information

MACU Athletics Records Six NAIA Scholar Teams, 60 Scholar-Athletes

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics held its 202-21 awards day on Wednesday as six of MACU's athletic programs were named Scholar Teams while 60 student-athletes garnered Scholar-Athlete honors.

The Mid-America Christian women's soccer team boasted the highest GPA of all of MACU's programs, turning in a 3.75 team grade-point average, the eighth-highest of all of the women's soccer teams in the NAIA.

The Evangels also notched 16 Scholar-Athletes, tied for the most of all of MACU's athletic programs.

During the 2020-21 season, the MACU women's soccer team put together its best winning percentage since the program's inception, ending the year with a 15-3 (.833) overall record and finished second in the Sooner Athletic Conference with an 8-1 mark.

The MACU men's soccer program also performed exceptionally in the classroom, rounding out the academic year with a 3.67 team GPA while also placing 16 on the NAIA Scholar-Athlete list.

The Mid-America Christian men's soccer team put together one of its most successful seasons in the history of the program, going 15-4-3, winning its second Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament title and advanced to the NAIA National Championship final site after defeating No. 14 Morningside (Iowa) and No. 8 Bethel (Tenn.) in the NAIA Opening Round.

The Evangels finished the season ranked No. 9 in the NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Poll, its highest ranking ever before the fall 2021 season.

The MACU volleyball team also excelled on the court and in the classroom, finishing the year with a 3.64 team GPA and had six student-athletes earning Scholar-Athlete honors.

Mid-America Christian ended the 2020 season with an NAIA era record for wins, going 19-15, notching the program's first ever nine-match win streak and appeared in its second straight NCCAA National Championships.

The MACU women's basketball team also found itself on the NAIA Scholar Team list, closing out the campaign with a 3.41 GPA and placed half its team on the Scholar-Athlete list with seven recipients.

The Evangels had one of its best seasons since joining the NAIA despite the season being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. MACU wrapped up the year with a 9-3 record and by going 6-0 in Sooner Athletic Conference play, won its first ever share of the SAC regular season title. MACU also made its first ever appearance in the NAIA National Championship Tournament and narrowly missed winning its first NCCAA Tournament game in an 85-83 loss to Columbia (Mo.) in the opening round.

The Mid-America Christian baseball team was also named an NAIA Scholar Team with a GPA of 3.03 while garnering three NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

The Evangels finished the year with a 24-26 record, but were able to spring a big time upset in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament when the Evangels defeated Southwestern Christian 10-0 at Bill Smith Ballpark in Chickasha, Okla. on May 7.

Rounding out the NAIA Scholar Team honorees, the MACU softball program had one of its most successful years both athletically and academically. MACU finished out with a 3.67 team GPA and placed 11 on the NAIA Scholar-Athlete list.

Mid-America Christian finished off the 2021 season with its first ever NCCAA National Championship, scoring the winning run on a walk-off suicide squeeze in the eighth inning to defeat Concordia-Ann Arbor (Mich.) 3-2 in Easley, S.C. on May 20. The Evangels wrapped up the year with its winningest season in program history with a 37-14 (.725) overall record and put together its best ever SAC record at 21-9 (.700).

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