Smith Named Academic All-American

Nov. 23, 2004

LAWRENCE, Kan. – After leading the team in scoring for the third consecutive season and helping guide the Kansas soccer team to its first Big 12 Soccer Championship, junior forward Caroline Smith was selected to the ESPN Academic All-America Second Team on Tuesday.

The Edina, Minn., native led the Jayhawks this season in goals (11), assists (10) and points, while maintaining a 3.88 grade point average in the classroom. Smith is currently a biology and psychology major and plans to attend medical school.

“It is an honor to be recognized for my hard work in the classroom as well as on the field,” said Smith. “It is also a tribute to how far we have come as a team for us to be receiving this type of national attention.”

The All-America teams were selected by CoSida and include only two other Big 12 student-athletes, Kelly Willson of Texas and Karen Bauer of Missouri.

After just three season at KU, Smith is the school’s all-time leader in most offensive categories, including goals with 42 career tallies and points with 100.

“It is a great honor for her and it reflects her work ethic in both the classroom and on the soccer field,” said Kansas head coach Mark Francis. “Obviously, she has done a great job in both and we are very proud of her. She does a great job of being a good reflection of the entire program.”