Full Release
WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The Collegiate Sports Communicators (CSC) released its Academic All-District teams on Tuesday afternoon and West Chester had five players honored as
Danielle Ciliberto (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon), Paige Marabell (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock), Hailey Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca), Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin), and Casey Best (Wilmington, Del./Concord) were honored for their efforts on the field and in the classroom.
Per CSC, eligible nominees must compete in 90 percent of the institution's games played or start in at least 66 percent of the institution's games. Pitchers must have made at least 17 appearances or pitched 35 innings.
Academic All-District® honorees were considered for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. Student-athletes selected as CSC Academic All-America® finalists are denoted with an asterisk and will advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members. First-, second-, and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced on June 17, 2025.
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2024-25 Division II and III Academic All-America programs.
Ciliberto, Marabell, and Hopkins were all PSAC East All-Conference honorees earlier this spring, while Marabell earned NFCA and D2CCA Second Team All-Region honors.
Ciliberto finished the year 18-7 overall with a 1.82 ERA and a .258 opponent's batting average with 104 strikeouts in 165.1 innings of work, including 12 complete games. The junior also picked up three saves as she broke the WCU career save record and moved into the top five in career wins, shutouts, and strikeouts. At the plate, Ciliberto batted .315 (41-for-130) with five doubles and three triples, driving in 25 runs, while scoring 18 more as she served as the DP went not pitching and retained her spot in the top half of the lineup when in the circle.
Marabell finished her regular season batting.336 (50-for-149) with 13 doubles, one triple, and a team-best 12 home runs while also driving in 47 runs and scoring 18 more. She had a 1.086 OPS with a stellar .678 on-base percentage and a .408 on-base percentage with 15 walks and four hit by pitches in an excellent season at the plate. Marabell has also been a strong defensive catcher for Lokey's Golden Rams this season, posting a .995 fielding percentage with just one error and three passed balls while catching six runners attempting to steal, which is tied for sixth best in the league.
Marabell added three hits to her total in the NCAA Tournament earlier this month, including a solo home run off Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Year, Sarah Davenport, in the seventh inning of Saturday's game vs East Stroudsburg to break up a no-hitter.
Melvin finished her final season wearing the Purple and Gold batting to .280 (42-for-150) with five doubles and four triples with 18 RBI and a team-best 39 runs scored. Melivn also stole a team-best 11 bases on 12 attempts while playing an excellent left field for head coach
Diane Lokey and company throughout the season.
Hopkins led the team in batting average at .345 (61-for-177) with 17 doubles and nine home runs for 39 runs scored and 34 RBI as she returned to the Golden Ram outfield in 2025. Hopkins tied for the team lead in runs scored with Melvin and led the team in doubles, while her nine home runs and 34 RBI, were second best on the squad, trailing only Marabell (13; 48).
Best was the final Academic All-District honoree for the Golden Rams as she capped off her excellent career as a Golden Ram batting .314 (50-for-159) in her final season with 15 extra-base hits, including nine doubles and six home runs, including two in the NCAA Tournament vs Bowie State. The senior catcher turned first baseman also scored 28 runs and drove in 34 more in her final season as a Golden Ram.
