Charlotte, NC - The NJCAA released its annual All-Academic teams this month to honor student-athletes at the nation’s two-year colleges for classroom success, including 22 from Pitt Community College. 

All told, the NJCAA recognized 10,267 student-athletes for recording an overall GPA of 3.60 or higher during the 2022-23 academic year. The criteria for inclusion on its three All-Academic teams were as follows: 

All-Academic First Team: 4.00 GPA 

All-Academic Second Team: 3.80-3.99 GPA 

All-Academic Third Team: 3.60-3.79 GPA 

Nine PCC student-athletes were among the 2,702 nationally to garner First-Team NJCAA honors, and nine more were part of the Second Team, which was comprised of 3,347 student-athletes. Four Bulldogs joined 4,113 of their peers in earning Third-Team recognition. 

“The number of PCC student-athletes receiving high academic honors at the national level nearly doubled from last year,” PCC Athletics Director Dawn Manning said. “It shows that our student-athletes are not only committed to achieving their athletic goals, they are pursuing academic excellence as well.” 

Manning says she is proud of Pitt’s student-athletes for the hard work they’ve put in to succeed in the classroom and their respective sports. She said Pitt coaches and support team members “work tirelessly with student-athletes to create a culture of success by building character, creating relationships, teaching life skills and being part of a greater community.” 

Of Pitt’s first-teamers, five were from baseball: Michael Gordon, Parks Ledwell, Caleb May, Matt Osterman and Martin Zelenka. Three volleyball players – Sara Daughtry, Dakota Newberry and Bailey Wood – were also on the First Team, along with softball’s Brianna Knapper. May, Osterman, Wood and Zelenka had 4.0 GPAs throughout their two-year PCC careers. 

Earlier this year, May and Newberry received PCC Student-Athlete Awards in recognition of academic achievement, good sportsmanship, and the positive impact they’ve had on their teams and community. May, an associate in arts major, and Newberry, an associate in science student, received their honors during the college’s annual Academic Excellence Awards Ceremony. 

Representing Pitt on the NJCAA’s Second Team were baseball’s Thomas Bowman, Ryker Galaska, Will Gervase, Will Walker, Hunter Whitten and Evan Wyrick. Softball’s Samantha Taylor was a second-teamer, as were volleyball players Emily Fedderson and Lyndsay Williams. Four baseball players earned Third-Team honors: Landen Harris, Archie Herring, Landon Howard and Trent Pulliam. 

In addition to announcing individual academic honors, the NJCAA also announced its 2022-23 Academic Teams of the Year this week. Nearly 1,100 teams posted a 3.0 GPA or better to earn the honor, including two from PCC: baseball and volleyball. Pitt baseball players recorded a 3.41 GPA, while volleyball posted a 3.17 GPA. 

For PCC Baseball Coach Tommy Eason, emphasizing classroom success is a key part of helping players grow into model citizens. “Our program does it the right way, on and off the field,” he said. “We also have strong support from the community and administration.” 

A total of 33 PCC student-athletes, representing all four of the college’s intercollegiate athletic teams, graduated in May. Combined, the 17 baseball, nine men’s basketball, four softball and three volleyball players recorded a 3.33 GPA.  

A complete list of student-athletes and teams the NJCAA honored this week is available at njcaa.org.