AUSTIN, Texas – UW-Superior sophomore forward Niya Wilson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) was named to the 2021 Division III CoSIDA Academic All-America® women's soccer first team selected by the College Sports Information Directors Association and announced Wednesday. 
 
Wilson becomes the Yellowjackets' second first-team All-American and first in women's soccer. She is Superior's sixth overall selection, joining women's basketball's Eva Reinertsen (first team in 2020 and second team in 2019) and Sally Linzmeier (second team in 2015), men's soccer's Eric Watson (second in 2019) and baseball's Braeden Barr (third team in 2019).
 
The 33-member women's team has a 3.94 average GPA with the first team boasting a 3.97. Eleven women, led by CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year Maya Nielan of MIT, have a 4.0 GPA, including Wilson. Julia Meehan (Wesleyan), Elizabeth White (Case Western Reserve), Rose Evans (Middlebury), Jocelyn Mayer (Carnegie Mellon), Alexa Brown (Moravian), Kily Egan (North Central (Ill.)), Rachel Strader (RIT), Juliette Carreiro (Brandeis), and Meghan Rowlett (MIT) are the other nine.
 
The CoSIDA Academic All-America® program recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom, separately recognizing women's and men's soccer student-athletes in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
 
Wilson, a Business Administration major, earned UMAC Offensive Player of the Year and a first-team selection in 2021. She finished eighth in the NCAA in goals (20), sixth in points (51) and ninth in assists (11). She also ranked third in the country with eight game-winning goals. Wilson was also 26th nationally in assists per game at 0.52. Wilson scored a career-high four goals in a 6-1 victory over Minnesota Morris on Oct. 2. She also earned consecutive UMAC Offensive Player of the Week awards on Sept. 7 and 13.

To be eligible for nomination consideration, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30 or higher and be a starter or key contributor on their respective team.
 
Wilson led the Yellowjackets to the first conference regular season and tournament championships in the 29-year history of the program in 2021, winning the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference titles. UWS rode a 17-match unbeaten streak into its NCAA tournament encounter at 25th-ranked St. Catherine, finishing the season with a school-record 18-4-1 overall mark.