2024 All-PacWest Teams

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Two of the Urban Knights' top run scorers and run producers, junior utility Alexis Folks and senior outfielder Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki represented Academy of Art softball by earning places on the All-PacWest Third Team in Tuesday's announcement of Pacific West Conference honors.

New to the program this season, Folks made an immediate impact by starting many a rally at the top of the ART U batting order. The team's leader in batting average, she hit .313 (12th in PacWest) while ranking fourth in the conference in walks (24), seventh in on-base percentage (.418), and 18th in runs scored (17). She added seven runs batted in, two doubles, and four stolen bases as a starter in all 44 games.

Folks proved to be a super-utility competitor in her debut year with the program, nearly evenly splitting her playing time across third base (17 games), outfield (17 games), and designated player (15 games). The Communications & Media Technologies major had a hit in each of her first six contests (scoring a run in four of the six) with two of her 11 multi-hit games coming during that span. Never going more than two consecutive games without a hit, Folks saw her bat catch fire in the month of April where she batted .358 (14-for-39) with six runs scored over 12 contests.

Continuing to thrive in the ART U lineup after her breakout 2023 campaign, Grayhorse-Pupecki picked up right where she left off in 2024, demonstrating her ability to hit for extra bases and consistently be productive. Furthering the program's career triples record this year, she roped four more to rank second in the PacWest, giving her 14 through four years. Additionally, she concluded the regular season ranked eighth in both home runs (4) and runs scored (22), 12th in runs batted in (18), 13th in slugging percentage (.458), and 21st in batting average (.289) with six stolen bases and four doubles as well.

After scoring eight runs in her first eight contests of the year, Grayhorse-Pupecki enjoyed a 17-game span from March to April that saw her at least record a hit or score a run each time out. Among the 10 multi-hit games the Fashion Design major this season was a 3-for-5 effort that included two runs batted in and had her just a home run from hitting for the cycle versus Chaminade on Apr. 6. Grayhorse-Pupecki would drive in multiple runs a total of four times in 2024 with two of those occasions featuring multi-run homers. The Los Angeles native would either triple and/or homer at least twice in each of the season's three months.

These is the second consecutive All-PacWest Team honor for Grayhorse-Pupecki in her career after she was also named to the Third Team in 2023. It is the first All-PacWest Team selection for Folks in her career.