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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Olivia Black added yet another academic honor to her growing tally, as she was named the ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday.

Black, the first Scholar-Athlete of the Year in FGCU softball history, headlined the All-Academic team that also featured three more Eagles in Victoria Ash, Nikki Gibson and Sophie Wylie. All three of Ash, Gibson and Wylie made their first Academic All-ASUN appearance, while Black was tabbed to the team for the third consecutive year.

The Fort Pierce, Florida, native was also named to the Allstate NACDA Spring Good Works Team earlier this morning, joining CJ Smith (men’s tennis) as the first two FGCU student-athletes to ever earn the prestigious honor. Additionally, Black was inducted into the FGCU Student Hall of Fame in April for her numerous community service involvements alongside her academic excellence and athletic performance.

In the classroom, Black graduated three semesters early with a perfect 4.0 GPA in forensic studies and has maintained her perfect GPA through her Master’s Degree program. She will graduate next year with her Master’s Degree in forensic studies with a concentration in human identity and trauma analysis. Throughout her time at FGCU, she has served as a Laboratory Intern and Teaching Assistant. She also completed a student research opportunity, overseeing technical training for middle school students in foundational forensic sciences. 

Black has demonstrated leadership as the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and as a captain on the softball team. She created and launched the SAAC Eagle Cup, a comprehensive, department-wide incentive program which has increased student-athlete engagement in community service and student-athlete development opportunities. Black serves as the primary liaison to the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee (IAC) and University Athletic Director, advocating for student-athlete welfare, academic integrity, and policy reform; she also represents FGCU at the ASUN Conference level, collaborating with conference leaders to provide feedback on NCAA legislation and national student-athlete initiatives. She was selected to participate in the EAGLE Leadership Institute, an intensive nine-month leadership program focused on individual, group and community leadership values.

In the FGCU community, Black has been involved with Habitat for Humanity, helping to build multiple homes in North Fort Myers alongside her teammates. She hosted multiple canned food drives, including one for Hurricane Ian relief efforts, and hosted a Bone Marrow Drive. Black volunteered at Golisano’s Children’s Hospital each of the last four falls, hosting toy drives for the children. Additionally, she partnered with the American Heart Association to raise funds and awareness for cardiac disease and stroke. In conjunction with her time as a softball student-athlete, she organized and led a Youth Impact initiative, and has worked numerous skills clinics with youth softball players.

On the field, she became the seventh player in ASUN history and first since 2017 to record 100 stolen bases (she enters the conference tournament with 101). She now ranks sixth in ASUN history and is seventh among active players. Black holds the FGCU career Division I stolen base record and went a perfect 10-for-10 on stolen base attempts in ASUN play in 2026. She is on track to finish third in program history with a 92.66% success rate on stolen base attempts (min. 50 steals), which would be the best mark by a four-year player at FGCU and the second best mark in the Division I era.

The Fort Pierce, Florida, native also boasts a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 51 starts in 2026 in center field. She’s one of six qualified players in the ASUN (min. 68 chances) without an error and is just one of two outfielders in the conference at that mark; Black tallied five outfield assists, including an 8-6 double play in conference play, in the regular season.

She is one of six players in the conference to steal three bases in a game when she swiped three bags at West Georgia; Black also swiped two bases twice in 2026, against Stetson in the season finale and against Ball State in February.

Black is one of eight players in the conference to have a four-hit game when she garnered a career high against Louisiana Monroe in February, she also doubled twice against the Warhawks, which is tied for the most doubles in a game in the ASUN this season. She totaled 16 multi-hit games (two three-hit games and the four-hit game) and has four multi-RBI games, including three in ASUN play. One of her multi-RBI games came on February 17, when she delivered a two-run walk-off single to upset FAU.

The four-year Eagle leads FGCU with 18 stolen bases in 2026 (tied for fifth in the ASUN), three triples (tied for eighth in the ASUN), 50 hits and a .331 average. Her 24 runs scored are second on the team and her 21 RBIs are third on the team.

5 seed FGCU will face 8 seed Austin Peay in a first round single-elimination game at 2:30 p.m. today.

The full bracket can be found here and the ASUN Championship central is here.

For more information on FGCU Softball, follow @FGCUSoftball on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit fgcuathletics.com.