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AUSTIN, Texas – Eastern Kentucky University senior soccer player
Larissa Heslop has been named to the 2019 Academic All-America® Second Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
She is only the second player in the history of the EKU soccer program to be named an Academic All-American.
Heslop is one of only two student-athletes from the Ohio Valley Conference and the state of Kentucky to be named a Division-I women's soccer Academic All-American. Murray State's Abby Jones was voted to the third team.
"I am extremely grateful for the honor," Heslop said. "I want to thank everyone that has been a part of my journey along the way from my coaches, all the Bratzke academic advisors, my professors, athletic trainers, everyone in the athletic department, my mentors, anyone else that took the time to show me love and guidance, and I want to thank my family, especially my parents."
Heslop joins student-athletes from schools such as Stanford, Penn State, Virginia, Georgetown and the Naval Academy on the 2019 Academic All-America® teams.
The outside back from Greer, South Carolina wrapped up her career as one of the winningest players in EKU soccer history. She appeared in 16 games this season and played a key role in five shutouts, which tied for the OVC lead.
A member of EKU's renowned Honors Program, Heslop has maintained a 4.0 GPA while pursuing a degree in anthropology and a minor in international business. She recently presented her Honors thesis, which focuses on the difficulties of reentry after incarceration in Kentucky.
Heslop was named the 2019 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar of the Year for women's soccer by the publication
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. In the summer of 2018, she was a volunteer research assistant at the Interdisciplinary Behavioral Research Center at Duke University. Heslop has studied abroad in England, Israel and Egypt while at EKU. She plans on studying in Brazil in the spring of 2020.
