Sports: Academic All-Stars

Basketball forward Ryan Algier ’21 and softball infielder Alexis Pope ’21 capped their Rochester careers with one of the nation’s highest accolades for a student athlete.

Algier, a data science and business double major from Fairport, New York, was elected as a Division III First Team Academic All-American, becoming the seventh men’s basketball player to earn the recognition and the first one named a member of the first team.

Pope, a biochemistry major from Ewing, New Jersey, was named a Third Team Academic All-American, becoming just the third player in program history to receive the honor.

Conducted by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America, the accolade recognizes student athletes for their achievements in the classroom as well as for their athletic accomplishments.

In a shortened six-game season this year, Algier led Rochester in multiple categories, including scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, and field goal percentage. He was also named as the D3hoops.com East/Northeast Regional Player of the Year and first team all-region.

Pope had a career year in 2021, helping the Yellowjackets reach the NCAA Division III tournament finals in Salem, Virginia. She hit .338 in starting all 45 of Rochester’s games. She earned Second Team all-Liberty League accolades this year and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Erie, Pennsylvania, regional leg of the tournament.

Both Algier and Pope were elected to the academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa, and each was selected as a Lysle (Spike) Garnish Scholar-Athlete, an honor that goes to the top 10 senior Yellowjacket student athletes.

More than 100 Yellowjackets have been named Academic All-Americans since Michael Corp ’78—a running back on the football team and a double major in history and psychology—earned the first honor in 1976.