TOWSON, Md. -- Slippery Rock University junior softball outfielder Shardea Croes was named Wednesday to third-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The Academic All-America honor came on the heels of Croes being named this spring as a first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District performer by CoSIDA. She earned third-team Academic All-District honors in 2009.

The CoSIDA awards are the latest additions to an impressive collection of honors afforded the exercise science major. In 2009, she was the only non-Division I student-athlete to be a finalist for the 2009 Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar presented by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine.

On the softball diamond, Croes, a native of San Nicolas, Aruba, received second-team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division honors this spring. She also earned second-team All-PSAC-West status as a freshman in 2008.

She finished the 2010 season with a .407 batting average, five doubles, two triples, 15 RBIs and a 16-of-20 efficiency in stolen base attempts.

Croes' career batting average of .368 ranks second on SRU's all-time list. She is also second in career stolen bases (45) and eighth in career runs scored (65).

Away from the softball field, Croes is actively involved in projects that promote diversity and cultural awareness on the SRU campus. She is also a Special Olympics volunteer and has been part of youth-related programs such as Operation Christmas Child (shoe boxes filled with gifts for underprivileged children around the world), Kids in Action (working with autistic children) and the I Care House in New Castle.

Croes is also an active member of the Adapted Physical Activity Council, Exercise Science Society and Compass Leadership organizations.

In her home country of Aruba, she served as a representative to the Global Young Leaders Conference in April 2008 and was a member of the selection staff for Aruba's 2009 Kingdom Games softball team.

Her role in the Global Young Leaders Conference led to Croes' being invited to participate in the University Presidential Inauguration Conference held in January 2009 in Washington, D.C. as part of the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.

Croes was the second Rock student-athlete to earn an Academic All-America honor during the 2009-10 academic year. Men's soccer standout Jeremy Deighton also earned third-team status last fall.

Slippery Rock has had at least one student-athlete named to Academic All-America honors in each of the last 10 years and 16 of the last 17 years. A total of 57 Rock student-athletes have earned this prestigious honor since 1971. That total is sixth best among NCAA Division II institutions, according to data recently released by CoSIDA.