FORT MYERS, Fla. – Several Florida SouthWestern State College student-athletes have earned academic honors for their success in the classroom during the 2015-16 academic year.
Hayden Platt, Jose Valmana, Layton Thomas, Briggs Benson, Marta Fuentes and Raina Gorman earned National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Academic Student-Athlete Awards, while Benson, Valmana, Platt, Thomas, Fuentes, Gorman, Jenna Sacchetti and Kayla Rangiawha were named to The Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) All-Academic team.
In addition to National and State awards, Benson, Valmana, Platt, Thomas, Fuentes, Gorman, Sacchetti and Rangiawha were joined by Samantha Luckett, Julia Hancock, Courtney Gettins, Russell Klein and Ian Kimbrell on the Suncoast Conference All-Academic team for having a 3.0 GPA or better.
Of the 57,472 student-athletes that participated in the NJCAA during the 2015-16 academic year, 7.98 percent earned national academic honors – over double the previous mark of 3.31 percent set last year. Previously, NJCAA academic awards were only given to sophomores who had completed their eligibility, but starting this year, freshmen with at least 24 semester-hours also became eligible for the awards. Honoring academic performance throughout each individual’s collegiate career, there are three classifications of the NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards based on the following cumulative GPA qualifications:
- Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence: 4.00 GPA
- Superior Academic Achievement Award: 3.80-3.99 GPA
- Exemplary Academic Achievement Award: 3.60-3.79 GPA
FSW’s six student-athletes who earned NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards, included one student (Benson) who was honored with the Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence for having a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Two Bucs (Valmana, Fuentes) earned the Superior Academic Achievement Award with a GPA of 3.80-3.99 and the final three students (Platt, Thomas, Gorman) were honored with the Exemplary Academic Achievement Award for a 3.60-3.79 GPA.
Eight Buccaneers earned the minimum 3.30 GPA in the classroom to earn FCSAA All-Academic team honors. In total, the FCSAA honored 560 student-athletes from 23 member colleges.
For more information on Buccaneer Athletics follow @FSWBucs on Twitter or log on to FSWBucs.com.
NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards (Name - Sport, Award Type)
- Hayden Platt - Baseball, Exemplary
- Jose Valmana - Baseball, Superior
- Layton Thomas - Baseball, Exemplary
- Marta Fuentes - Softball, Superior
- Raina Gorman – Softball, Exemplary
- Briggs Benson – Baseball, Pinnacle
FCSAA All-Academic Team (min. 3.3 GPA)
- Baseball: Briggs Benson, Jose Valmana, Hayden Platt, Layton Thomas
- Softball: Marta Fuentes, Raina Gorman, Jenna Sacchetti, Kayla Rangiawha
Suncoast Conference All-Academic Team (min. 3.0 GPA)
- Baseball: Briggs Benson, Jose Valmana, Hayden Platt, Layton Thomas, Russell Klein, Ian Kimbrell
- Softball: Marta Fuentes, Raina Gorman, Jenna Sacchetti, Kayla Rangiawha, Samantha Luckett, Julia Hancock, Courtney Gettins
About the NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards
Formerly known as NJCAA Academic All-America honors, the NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Awards program has annually recognized the academic success of the association’s student-athletes since the program’s inception in 1983. Nominations are submitted by each student-athlete’s respective institution.
FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN
The Florida SouthWestern State College athletic program is a member of the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The Buccaneers are one of 25 schools in the NJCAA Region 8 and are one of six schools in the Suncoast Conference. Florida SouthWestern State College currently upports four intercollegiate athletic programs (Baseball, Softball, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball), with Volleyball coming in the fall of 2017.
Baseball and Softball began their regular season competition in 2016 at the City of Palms Park in Fort Myers. Located on the Thomas Edison (Lee) Campus in Fort Myers will be the brand new Suncoast Credit Union Arena (set to be completed by fall 2016), where FSW’s men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams will compete.
THE NJCAA
The movement to form a unique sports association dedicated to America’s two-year colleges arose in 1937 when several track and field coaches gathered in Fresno, California. A year later, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rejected a petition from 13 two-year colleges in California to grant their teams and athletes permission to compete at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.
In the spring of 1938, following the NCAA’s rejection, those same 13 two-year colleges gathered again in Fresno to organize and form an association that would promote and supervise a national athletics program exclusively for junior and community colleges…and the rest is history.
On May 14, 1938, the first constitution of the National Junior College Athletic Association was accepted by its charter members and the organization held its first national championship event a year later in May 1939.
The NJCAA has played a vital role in collegiate athletics for the past eight decades and continues to be the leader in championing academic and athletic opportunities for student-athletes. This section of the association's website is dedicated to celebrating the NJCAA's rich history and tradition as the national governing body of two-year college athletics.
For more information on the NJCAA log on to www.NJCAA.org.
THE FCSAA
The Florida College System Activities Association, Incorporated (FCSAA) is a statewide non‑profit corporation regulating, coordinating, and promoting intercollegiate activities in: Athletics, Brain Bowl, Forensics, Music, Student Government, Student Publications, and Theatre.
Membership in the Florida College System Activities Association is open to any of the 28 colleges in the Florida College System. Each member institution is represented in the policy‑making deliberations of the Association through that institution's President or other designated representative. The institutional representatives constitute the FCSAA Presidents Assembly, the ultimate authority in FCSAA.
For more information on the FCSAA log on to www.TheFCSAA.com.
NJCAA REGION 8 & THE SUNCOAST CONFERENCE
Member colleges of the NJCAA are allotted to a specific NJCAA Region upon membership to the association. Unlike other collegiate organizations that defer to conference affiliation, the NJCAA guarantees each member college's membership within the regional structure of the association. In most cases, region assignment is based upon geographic location of the college.
The region structure of the NJCAA is the primary method used by all sponsored sports of the association in determining qualification for national championship tournaments. In certain sports, two or more regions are partnered to form a competition 'district', which is then used for national championship qualification. The organization of districts varies per sport and is formulated every two years under the authority of the association's board of directors.
FSW is in Region 8 and is joined by ASA College Miami (Region 8 only; non-FCSAA member), Broward College, Chipola College, College of Central Florida, Daytona State College, Eastern Florida State College, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Gulf Coast State College, Hillsborough Community College, Indian River State College, Lake-Sumter State College, Miami Dade College, Northwest Florida State College, Palm Beach State College, Pasco-Hernando State College, Pensacola State College, Polk State College, Santa Fe College, Seminole State College of Florida, South Florida State College, St. Johns River State College, St. Petersburg College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota and Tallahassee Community College.
The Bucs are also in the Suncoast Conference with Hillsborough Community College, Polk State College, South Florida State College, St. Petersburg College and State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota.
For more information on Region 8 log on to www.TheFCSAASports.com.