AUG. 1, 2026, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College Athletics continued its tradition of excellence in the classroom during the 2025-26 academic year, as 39 Raider student-athletes earned NJCAA All-Academic honors while six teams were recognized as NJCAA Academic Teams of the Year.

The 39 individual honorees mark an increase of five from last season and continue the department's record-setting academic success after GRCC also established a school record with 91 MCCAA Academic All-Conference selections earlier this summer.

Nationally, the NJCAA recognized 13,723 student-athletes with All-Academic honors after earning a cumulative GPA of 3.60 or higher, while 1,446 teams received Academic Team of the Year recognition with a team GPA of at least 3.00. Two teams across the nation posted perfect 4.00 GPAs.

"Our student-athletes continue to prove that excellence isn't limited to competition," said GRCC Director of Athletics Lauren Ferullo. "To have 39 student-athletes and six teams recognized on the national level is a tremendous accomplishment and speaks to the commitment our student-athletes make every day in the classroom. I'm incredibly proud of the work they've put in, and I also want to recognize our coaches, faculty and academic support staff who help create an environment where our students can thrive."

Leading the way were nine Raiders who earned NJCAA All-Academic First Team recognition by maintaining a perfect 4.00 GPA:

- Paige Arthur (Softball)
- Eevi Eskola (Women's Soccer)
- Taylor Kik (Volleyball)
- Myah Lapekes (Women's Soccer)
- Garnet Mullet (Volleyball)
- Lucas Pitsch (Men's Basketball)
- Hannah Pleiman (Women's Soccer)
- Landen Reister (Men's Basketball)
- Jersey VanderWall (Volleyball)

Twenty-one additional Raiders received NJCAA All-Academic Second Team honors (3.80-3.99 GPA):

- Seth Bischoff (Baseball)
- Linde Clark (Women's Soccer)
- Andrew Conrad (Baseball)
- Tianna Daye (Women's Basketball)
- Peter Heintz (Baseball)
- Zella Hutchings (Volleyball)
- Kaylee Kranz (Volleyball)
- Jack Lockwood (Baseball)
- Emily Meyers (Women's Soccer)
- Julianna Morales (Women's Soccer)
- Haiden Noakes (Baseball)
- Jose Oliveira (Men's Soccer)
- Emma Picarazzi (Women's Basketball)
- Tia Schone (Softball)
- Ella Schram (Softball)
- Isaac Skinner (Men's Cross Country)
- Aiden Spiegl (Baseball)
- Ava Vanderkolk (Softball)
- Lauren Wiley (Softball)
- Christina Williams (Volleyball)

Ten more Raiders were recognized on the NJCAA All-Academic Third Team (3.60-3.79 GPA):

- Binit Abdi (Women's Cross Country)
- Mallory Allen (Women's Soccer)
- Nyleese Bazan-Hernando (Women's Soccer)
- Gloria Gatson (Women's Cross Country)
- Owen Hendrix (Baseball)
- Michael Hurlbutt (Baseball)
- Vivian Idniak (Women's Cross Country)
- Dylan Johnston (Baseball)
- Nadia Perez (Women's Soccer)
- Henry Streeter (Baseball)

Several Raiders also earned repeat recognition for their academic excellence. Eevi Eskola became a back-to-back First Team selection, once again posting a perfect 4.00 GPA, while Jack Lockwood, Jersey VanderWall, Lauren Wiley, Gloria Gatson and Taylor Kik each collected repeat NJCAA All-Academic honors.

GRCC also had six programs recognized as NJCAA Academic Teams of the Year after finishing with team GPAs above 3.00:

- Women's Cross Country – 3.44 GPA
- Volleyball – 3.33 GPA
- Baseball – 3.24 GPA
- Women's Basketball – 3.11 GPA
- Women's Soccer – 3.11 GPA
- Men's Cross Country – 3.05 GPA

The honor marks the third consecutive season the Raider volleyball program has earned NJCAA Academic Team recognition.

For the complete list of NJCAA All-Academic individual honorees and Academic Teams, visit the NJCAA's official academic awards listings: INDIVIDUALS - TEAMS

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Interested in supporting GRCC Athletics?  All donations can be done through GRCC Athletic's Scholarship Fund and can specify what scholarship fund the gift is going to, such as the Hofmann scholarship. If you have any questions on how to support Athletics at Grand Rapids Community College, contact the Athletic Department via phone at (616) 234-3883 or email grccathletics@grcc.edu. Any support is appreciated and goes towards assisting our student-athlete scholarship funds.