LA MIRADA, Calif. --- On Thursday Tori Apodaca was announced as one of four PacWest Conference softball players featured on the 12-person CoSIDA Academic All-District team. It is Apodaca's first career CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, and she becomes the seventh player in Biola Softball history to earn the recognition.

Hover is the third Eagle this season to earn Academic All-District recognition, joining Jake Munivez of the Biola Men's Soccer team and Sami Hover of Biola Volleyball.

The 2020 Academic All-District® Softball Team, selected by CoSIDA, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CoSIDA Academic All-America® program separately recognizes softball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.

Biola is a part of NCAA Division II District 8, which includes the PacWest, California Collegiate Athletic Association and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Apodaca joins three student-athletes from Concordia Irvine in representing the PacWest with selection.

She has the highest cumulative grade point average of anyone honored from district 8 (4.00). Apodaca is majoring in Journalism & Integrated Media, with a concentration in broadcast journalism.

The Academic All-District winners are now eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-American selection. Biola Softball has not earned an Academic All-American selection yet. This is the third Biola Softball Academic All-District selection in the NCAA Division II era, with Apodaca joining Hailey Boyett (2018) and Terri Van Dagens (2018).

To be eligible for these awards student-athletes must be sophomores or above with a cumulative grade point average over 3.30. The awards are voted on by the members of CoSIDA in the student-athletes' district. The voting takes into account both the GPA and the on- field performance of the individual, which is what makes landing on this list quite prestigious.

Apodaca had made 20 appearances so far in 2020 whe the season was cut short due to COVID-19. She had 13 starts, highlighted by back-to-back two-hit ballgames at the beginning of the Eagles' season-ending Hawaiian road trip.

The Academic All-America softball team for NCAA Division II will be announced on June 10.