COC Athletics to See More Than 100 Student-Athletes Graduate

The College of the Canyons Athletics department recently hosted its annual Student-Athlete Academic Achievement Dinner, honoring more than 100 student-athletes who will be earning an associate degree this semester and/or transferring to a four-year school in the fall.

Included in that list were student-athletes from all 16 of the college's intercollegiate athletic programs — and 10 dual-sport athletes. 

These former Cougars will soon be heading to four-year schools across the nation including: Boston College, University of Louisville, Gonzaga University, Arizona State University, University of Hawaii Hilo, Illinois State University, Chicago State University, Murray State University, Montana State University, Utah Valley University, St. Mary's College of California, USC, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, UC Davis, San Jose State University and San Diego State University — just to name a few.

"Our athletic programs have established a tradition of excellence and distinguished themselves as some of the finest in the state. That reputation is rooted not only in athletic achievement, but also in what takes place off the field," said College of the Canyons Chancellor Dr. Dianne Van Hook. "With encouragement from their coaches, our student-athletes excel in the classroom. Because they focus on academics first, they have the opportunity to transfer to four-year universities and pursue their athletic goals at the next level."

The level of academic success achieved by the college's student-athletes is not limited to the 2015-16 academic year, with COC players and teams routinely earning academic accolades. 

Earlier this semester the 2015 COC softball team — which posted a team GPA of 3.24 — was named the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Scholar Team Award recipient, representing the highest academic team achievement given annually by the CCCAA.

In addition, former standout COC women's volleyball player Serena LeDuff was named a 2014-15 CCCAA Scholar Athlete Award Winner after maintaining a 3.76 GPA during her two seasons of competition.

"The COC Athletics department is routinely among the state leaders in seeing its student-athletes matriculate and transfer to the next level, and that is something we take great pride in," said COC athletic director Chuck Lyon. "This group is a shining example of what it means to be a student first, and an athlete second."