EUGENE, Ore. – After posting a career year at the plate while at the same time earning her Master’s degree in prevention science, Vallery Wong on Tuesday became the seventh softball Academic All-American in program history.
Wong maintained a 4.00 grade point average while completing her postgraduate degree to earn second team Academic All-America honors at designated player. Wong received her undergraduate degree in psychology last year.
The Sacramento, Calif., native is just the second Duck to be honored at the designated player position, and the first since Kim Manning in 1991.
Wong set career highs in batting average (.302), hits (45), runs (24), doubles (11) and RBI (32) in 2024. She was third on the team in doubles and RBI and fourth in batting average. Her 11 doubles were tied for 11th in the Pac-12. Wong’s versatility was also a factor in her selection to the academic team. During her career, Wong played nine different positions – all four infield spots, all three outfield positions, catcher and designated player. The only position Wong did not play was pitcher.
Wong helped lead Oregon to its fourth straight NCAA Regional final, where the Ducks fell to eventual national champion Oklahoma, 3-2. Oregon finished 2024 with a 30-21 record (13-10 in the Pac-12).
Earlier this season, Wong was honored by the NFCA on its all-Pacific Region third team for the first time in her career.
This is the third consecutive year that the softball program has produced an Academic All-American. Allee Bunker was a second-team honoree last season after being a third-team selection in 2022.
The Academic All-America teams are selected by the College Sports Communicators (CSC) of America.
The 2024 CSC national awards prominently featured the State of Oregon. The NCAA Division III national Academic All-American of the Year went to Linfield’s Shelby Robb while the NAIA division national award went to Oregon Tech’s Kaila Mic.
Oregon Softball Academic All-Americans
1988 Susan Voeller, 2nd Team
1991 Kim Manning, 1st Team
2013 Alexa Peterson, 1st Team
2014 Cheridan Hawkins, 3rd Team
2015 Cheridan Hawkins, 1st Team
2016 Koral Costa, 1st Team; Cheridan Hawkins, 2nd Team
2022 Allee Bunker, 3rd Team
2023 Allee Bunker, 2nd Team
2024 Vallery Wong, 2nd Team
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