Bailey becomes the first three-time Academic All-American in C-N softball history
AUSTIN, Texas – Carson-Newman senior first baseman Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) earned First-Team Academic All-America honors by the College Sports Communicators, the organization announced Tuesday.
VIDEO: Macauley Bailey Interview
AUSTIN, Texas – Carson-Newman senior first baseman Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) earned First-Team Academic All-America honors by the College Sports Communicators, the organization announced Tuesday.
"It feels good, I think this is one of the most important honors. Academics are super important to me, and to be a three-time academic All-American is pretty cool, it's something I would include on my resume," Bailey said. "It speaks to my work ethic because I turn things in on time, I show up to class, I take the lead on group projects, it's all about the little things, I think it makes a huge impact on your grades and your ability to perform on the field."
This is her third consecutive season making Academic All-America and her second straight on the first team; she was on the second team as a sophomore. She also becomes the first-ever member from the softball program to be a three-time Academic All-American.
"Especially being a female athlete, it feels awesome to be able to show how good you can be, in the classroom and on the field," Bailey said. "It's really cool to show the girls I give lessons to, I tell them all the time, school's important, so to actually walk the walk and talk the talk and to show them that they can do that."
The Cross Plains, Tennessee native graduated with a 4.0 grade point average while studying psychology with minors in criminology and mental health. She is a four-time Carson-Newman Dean's List Member, a four-time Platinum Eagle Scholar, a four-time Hope Scholar, a four-time Presidential Scholar and a three-time CSC Academic All-District team member. Bailey was named the Elite 23 Winner this season at the SAC Championship Series.
Bailey's selection as an Academic All-American brings Carson-Newman to 84 all-time. The Eagles have had 63 Academic All-Americans in the last 11 years, the second-most in the South Atlantic Conference in that span, behind Wingate. Bailey is the fifth three-time Academic All-American in the department's history, joining swimmers Paden Duke, Asger Hartvig and Mary Northcutt and men's basketball Jack Browder, who achieved that this year as well.
The Cross Plains native gives the softball program its 13th all-time Academic All-America honor. The program has a history of producing multi-time honorees. The last four Academic All-Americans the softball program has produced have been multi-time honorees with Elayna Siebert (2015-16), Abby Fiessinger (2019-20) and KaraLynne Levi (2020-21) all going back-to-back.
"I tried to compartmentalize the two, softball and school, they're not something I tried to do simultaneously. I would do my homework, and then softball is a completely different entity," Bailey said. "I remember, especially in my undergrad, going to tutoring, and I was also a tutor, so I helped people as well as got help from my other peers. I took the initiative to make sure I made time for my homework, because softball is time-consuming, being a college kid is time-consuming, you want to have fun, but you also have to get the job done."
Bailey was also named South Atlantic Conference Softball Scholar Athlete of the Year at the end of May.
The South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the Conference's championship sports. It is voted on by the SAC's Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee. The winners are selected based on their achievements in academics, athletics, service, and leadership.
"Great way to end a career," head coach Michael Graves said. "She has won a lot of awards in her four years, and some of them multiple times. She is a great role model for the kids. I knew she was special when I recruited her in high school. You could always tell that her grades meant more to her than softball."
On the field, she was a consensus All-American at first base, putting together another stellar season in her final chapter. Bailey batted .440, totaling seven home runs with 59 RBIs, with a career-best .507 on-base percentage and a .636 slugging percentage. Her 81 hits were the sixth-most and 20 doubles are tied for the second-most in a single season.
The Cross Plains, Tennessee native closed her career with the third-most hits at 272, her .424 batting average and .480 on-base percentage are the sixth-highest in program history, third with a .769 slugging percentage and fourth for the most doubles, 54. She is Carson-Newman's all-time leader in home runs (55) and RBIs (249). Earlier this year, she passed Kayson Boatner and set the South Atlantic Conference record for career RBIs against Milligan. Bailey's 249 career RBIs are tied for the sixth-most in Division II softball history.
She plans to return to Carson-Newman next season as a member of the coaching staff alongside Michael Graves and Holly Tucker-Vance.
