Deaver, Gloster, Maynard, Steele named CSC-NAIA Academic All-District honorees
GREENWOOD, Ind. -- To say that it's been an exceptional year for the women's basketball program is an understatement.
On the court, the women's basketball program at Shawnee State enjoyed a 28-5 season, a 16-0 mark in River States Conference play during the regular season, and a NAIA Second Round appearance -- which ranks as easily the program's best season since the 2019-20 campaign.
Off the court, however, Shawnee State has arguably done just as well.
That was evident Tuesday afternoon, as the Shawnee State women's basketball program had four players -- Cianna Gloster, Lexi Deaver, Emily Maynard and Jariah Steele -- obtain College Sports Communicators' Academic All-District honoree, as announced by national officials within the CSC Tuesday.
Gloster, who holds a 3.58 GPA in psychology, enjoyed yet another terrific campaign during the 2024-25 season.
In addition to averaging a double-double for the second straight season (15.1 points, 11.7 rebounds) while notching 2.8 steals per game and shooting 55.4 percent from the field, Gloster did the following:
- Eclipsed 1,000 career collegiate points (1,029 -- 849 at SSU, 180 at Rochester, Mich.)
- Broke single-season rebounding record that she set (posted 387 rebs in 2024-25, eclipsing
the 373 she had in '23-24) - Won five River States Conference Player of the Week honors (four offensive, one defensive) this season
- X2 All-RSC (Second-Team All-RSC 2023-24, First-Team All-RSC 2024-25)
- Holds the top-two rebounding seasons in program history
- Eighth in program history in total rebs (760) in just 2 seasons
- 18th in program history in scoring average (13.5)
Additionally, Gloster was named as a 2024-25 NAIA Scholar Athlete and has been named as a two-time All-RSC Scholar-Athlete, as well.
Maynard, who holds the highest GPA on the roster with a 3.92 in accounting, appeared in all 33 of Shawnee State's contests like Gloster and started each of the final 27 games for the Bears -- obtaining Third-Team All-RSC honors after a season where the sophomore averaged 6.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals per contest.
Overall, Maynard had six games where she hit three or more threes in a single game over a 10-game stretch from Jan. 12 to Feb. 4, and hit 63 three-point field goals in 2024-25. The sophomore now has 92 overall in the first two seasons of her college career.
Reliability has been Maynard's major calling card throughout her career -- as the sophomore has played in all 63 games for Shawnee State over the course of her career on the court. In the classroom, Maynard is already a junior in academic standing and has made the President's List each of the last two semesters (holding a perfect 4.0 GPA in each) after previously earning Dean's List accolades in the Fall 2023 semester.
Steele, who holds a 3.73 in exercise science, appeared in all 33 games and started 32 of Shawnee State's 33 games en route to joining Maynard as a Third-Team All-RSC selection -- averaging 7.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 47.5 percent from the field.
A durable talent who is as equally reliable as Maynard is, Steele has become a fixture in the Shawnee State rotation over her first two seasons of play, posting 440 points, 276 rebounds, 69 steals, and a 43.4 percent shooting clip over the first two seasons of her college career. Steele has played in 61 games and started 48 of those contests for SSU in those two seasons.
Steele also broke out throughout much of the season's second half -- scoring a career-high 21 points in a 77-73 victory at Rio Grande back on Feb. 11 that was pivotal in helping Shawnee State win the River States Conference East Division outright.
Lexi Deaver
An unseflish player who is already a junior in academic standing, Shawnee State guard Lexi Deaver's winning penchant has carried over from the West Side to Shawnee State.
Having come in as part of a strong class that also included Maynard and Steele among others, the trio have helped Shawnee State go 48-15 over the last two years, engineering a turnaround that has seen Shawnee State improve by 24 wins from the 2021-22 season to the present day.
This falls right in line with a pattern that Deaver has been involved with -- as at Portsmouth West High School, Deaver helped the Senators go from 3-19 the year prior to her arrival on the high school scene to 10-13 as a freshman, 15-7 as a sophomore, 20-6 as a junior and 25-2 as a senior, which resulted in West winning its first-ever SOC II Championship and making the OHSAA Division III Regional Finals to conclude Deaver's career as a Sider.
With Shawnee State, Deaver has continued that improvement -- while maintaining a 3.57 GPA as an exercise science major.
Additional
Together, the above individuals led the Shawnee State women's basketball program to a perfect 16-0 conference record -- the program's first undefeated record since the 2017-18 season -- a 2025 River States Conference East Division Champions and one of the conference's two automatic qualifying bids to the NAIA National Tournament, and the NAIA's ninth-ranked defensive in terms of points per game (55.7).
