FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming off a banner year in the classroom and on the court, FGCU senior Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian/Wagner) picked up another major academic honor on Wednesday as she was named to the I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Scholar-Athlete Team. It was the second academic honor for Phills this season as she was also an ASUN All-Academic Team selection.
 
She becomes the seventh player in program history to earn the honor and the first since Keri Jewitt-Giles in 2020: Taylor Gradinjan (2018), Jordin Alexander (2017), Stephanie Haas (2016, 2015), Sarah Hansen (2014, 2013, 2012) and Courtney Chihil (2012, 2011). On top of that, Haas and Jenna Cobb also won post-graduate scholarships.

""Kerstie had an excellent season," said head coach Karl Smesko. "She had some of her best games when we needed her the most. She is also an excellent student."
 
Phills currently holds a 3.75 grade-point-average as a graduate student in health science. She finished her undergraduate work with a 3.79 GPA and has been a FGCU Dean's List member as well as an ASUN Honor Roll and FGCU AD Honor Roll selection. This past January, she was selected as one of the Suncoast Credit Union FGCU Athletics Scholar-Athletes of the Month. Recently, she was accepted into FGCU's extremely competitive Physicians Assistants Program.
 
She was the fourth leading scorer (8.8 points per game) this season for the No. 20 ranked Eagles (30-3) and the second leading rebounder (5.0 rebounds per game). Her return to the lineup after missing the 2020-21 season bolstered FGCU to another ASUN Championship Title and helped the Eagles reach the NCAA Tournament Second Round.
 
Phills played a key role during the nine-game absence of All-American and WNBA first-round draft pick Kierstan Bell due to injury. During that stretch, she increased her productivity to 11.8 points and a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game. In a win at Stetson, she was one shy of her career high with 23 points, while then posting her first double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds against Bellarmine.
  
For her career, Phills has played in 122 games overall between her true freshman year at Wagner and three seasons at FGCU helping the Eagles win the ASUN Regular-Season and Tournament Championship Titles in 2018-19, 2019-20 (finished 2019-20 ranked 24^th national), and this past season. She finished her career with 1,057 points overall, while adding 581 career rebounds and 115 steals through four seasons.
 
Additionally, Phills has provided over 80 hours of community service to the Southwest Florida community by volunteering at the Mid-West Foodbank, Spring Fling, Guadalupe Center, Office of Service Learning, Night at the Nest (Annual Athletics Fundraiser), and Meals of Hope.
 
Basketball players from all Division I-AAA ADA member institutions are eligible for these prestigious annual awards. Each of the nominees is required to maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.20 (4.00 scale) in undergraduate study and have been a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletics credentials. Nominees must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games listed on the nomination form. To be eligible for nomination to the Scholar-Athlete Team, individuals must have reached junior academic standing at their respective institution (ineligible athletics transfers are not eligible).

 

Courtney Chihil	2011
Courtney Chihil	2012
Sarah Hansen	2012
Sarah Hansen	2013
Sarah Hansen	2014
Stephanie Haas	2015
Stephanie Haas	2016
Jordin Alexander	2017
Taylor Gradinjan	2018
Keri Jewett-Giles	2020
Kerstie Phills	2021

 
 
 

Name	Institution	Major	GPA
Rose Caverly	Quinnipiac University	Health Science Studies	3.85
Conley Chinn	Belmont University	Psychology (Pre-Med)	4.0
Deja Church	DePaul University	Entrepreneurship	4.0
Mackenzie DeWees	Quinnipiac University	Criminal Justice / Business Administration	4.0
Rachel Hakes	Fairfield University	Business Analytics	4.0
Lexi Held	DePaul University	Marketing	3.6
Lou Lopez-Senechal	Fairfield University	Marketing	3.4
Kerstie Phills	Florida Gulf Coast University	Health Science	3.75
Lauren Van Kleunen	Marquette University	Communication & Media Studies	3.8
Cierra Walker	Gonzaga University	Organizational Leadership	4.0
Courtney Warley	Manhattan College	Business Professional Marketing	3.9

A special review committee of Division I-AAA Athletics Directors was responsible for selecting the winners. The 2022 Review Committee consisted of Joan McDermott (committee chair), University of San Francisco; Chasse Conque, UTRGV; Irma Garcia, St. Francis College; Phil Hutcheson, Lipscomb University; Robert Lineburg, Radford University; Marianne Reilly, Manhattan College; and Kenneth Siegfried, CSU Bakersfield.
 
About Division I-AAA ADA: Now in its 21st year, the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association's mission is to enhance initiatives common to its Division I-AAA membership (the 98 Division I institutions that do not sponsor football), in particular, aspects related to their flagship basketball programs. For more information on the Division I-AAA ADA, please visit www.div1aaa-ada.com. The Division I-AAA ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 57th year. For more information on NACDA and the 18 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.
 
For complete coverage of the women's basketball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_WBB, on Facebook at /fgcuwbb and online at www.FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU women's basketball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.

E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
 
SUPPORT THE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAM
Do you enjoy watching or following the FGCU women's basketball program? Would you like to play a role in the growth of the program and help take it to heights never before experienced? If so, you can reach out to Director of Advancement, Matt Ring, about opportunities to make an impact on the experiences of our student-athletes. He can be reached by email at mring@fgcu.edu or by office phone at 239-745-4434.

COACH SMESKO
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko maintains a record of 610-128 (.826) overall in his career, which is the third-highest winning percentage among active Division I coaches behind only UConn's Geno Auriemma and LSU's Kim Mulkey. He has also led the Eagles to a 232-18 (.930) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 30-2 (.933) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the previous 10 seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 153-5 (.968) record in conference play with six undefeated seasons. The 12-time ASUN Coach of the Year has led the program to 12-straight 25-win seasons and 18-consecutive 20-win campaigns, including 30-plus wins in five of the last eight years. On top of all that, the Eagles are 549-101 (.845) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green and Blue's .845 all-time winning percentage is the best in NCAA Division I women's basketball history.
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 90 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 10 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 44 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 25 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2021) each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
 
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