The junior guard now moves to the national Academic All-America ballot.
TAMPA (May 7, 2021) –University of South Florida junior guard Sydni Harvey has been named to the 2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-District® Women’s Basketball First Team, the organization announced on Thursday. She now advances to the national CoSIDA Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced in late May.
In the classroom, the 5-foot-10 point guard from Nashville, Tenn. boasts a 3.74-grade point average while majoring in marketing. She has maintained a minimum 3.70 GPA in each of her three years at USF.
On the court, Harvey continued to establish herself as one of the top players in the American Athletic Conference. She was named The American Tournament Most Outstanding Player and selected to the All-Tournament Team, and was also named to The American All-Conference Third Team. Harvey averaged 11.7 points per game on the year and 11.6 points per outing in the AAC and led the Bulls in three-point field goals made with 43, which was tied for the fourth-most in the conference. In addition, her 1.9 treys made per game was seventh in The American. She also finished the season second on the team in assists (40) and assists per game (1.7).
The 2020-21 Academic All-District® Women’s Basketball Team, selected by CoSIDA, recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CoSIDA Academic All-America® program separately recognizes basketball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA.
This past season, USF posted a 19-4 overall record, and a 12-2 mark in The American, and capped off an unprecedented season with its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance, and its sixth trip to the Big Dance in the last nine years. The Green and Gold finished the year ranked No. 19 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 18 in the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll, and rose to as high as No. 12 in the AP poll on Feb. 15, USF’s highest ranking ever.
Included in their 19 wins are a thrilling 67-63 overtime victory over No. 6 Mississippi State, the highest-ranked team the Bulls have ever defeated, and two victories over rival UCF. The first win against the Knights secured the regular-season crown on March 2 (W, 65-62) and the second the AAC Tournament crown on March 11 (W, 64-54).
USF defeated Washington State, 57-53, in the NCAA Tournament first round for its first tournament win since March 19, 2016, when it defeated Colorado State, 48-45.
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USF has recorded its best season in program history during the 2020-21 campaign, all while navigating the unpredictable COVID-19 landscape. In doing so, the Bulls won their first-ever conference regular-season and tournament titles, and posted their highest ranking in the Associated Press Top25 poll, reaching as high as No. 12.
USF has made 16 postseason tournament appearances and had seven NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 21 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to nine 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship, and won more than 380 games. For his efforts on the sideline during the 2020-21 season, Fernandez was named a finalist for the WBCA and semifinalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Awards. He was also tabbed the 2021 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
Also, during the 2020-21 campaign, the Bulls had five players recognized by The American for impressive seasons, including Elisa Pinzan (Most Improved Player, All-Conference Second Team), Maria Alvarez (Co-Sixth Player of the Year), Bethy Mununga (All-Conference First Team), Elena Tsineke (All-Conference First Team), and Sydni Harvey (All-Conference Third Team).
In addition, Harvey was named the American Athletic Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player and to the All-Tournament Team, while Mununga and Tsineke were also All-Tournament selections.
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