ST. LOUIS – Senior Mandi Roemmich (West Des Moines, Iowa) of the Drake University softball team is the first-ever Missouri Valley Conference Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year as voted on by the league's softball sports information directors, the MVC office announced Thursday, April 30.
 
This is the first year the Valley has awarded the top scholar-athlete of the year honor in softball. In addition, Roemmich and junior Nicole Timmons (Davenport, Iowa) were selected to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team while junior Macy Johnson (Winterset, Iowa) earned scholar-athlete honorable mention honors.
 
Roemmich is on the first team for the third straight year, joining former standout pitcher Brynne Dordel (2009-11), as the only Bulldogs to accomplish the feat. Timmons is on the first team for the second consecutive year while this is the first MVC Scholar-Athlete honor for Johnson.
 
The 2020 season ended abruptly in mid-March due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States. Roemmich, who started every game at shortstop, batted .333 with five doubles, 14 runs batted in and scored a team-high 18 runs in the shortened 2020 season.
 
Timmons, a pitcher, holds a 3.76 GPA in health sciences: clinical & applied. Despite missing two weeks due to injury this past season, she went 5-2 with a 2.01 earned run average and 57 strikeouts.

Johnson, who has a 3.33 GPA in marketing and started every game, tallied a school-record .434 batting average in 2020. She added five doubles, 11 RBI, 13 stolen bases and 18 runs.
 
In order to be eligible for MVC Scholar-Athlete honors, student-athletes must have a 3.2 GPA or higher, be at least a sophomore in athletic and academic standing and meet certain playing requirements.