26 Jul 2023 NJCAA names 25 Nighthawks to Academic Teams

HOT SPRINGS – Twenty-five student-athletes for National Park College (NPC) Nighthawk Athletics’ baseball, softball and men’s and women’s soccer teams were named to the 2022-23 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Academic teams this week for their outstanding performance and dedication in the classroom. 

Sophomore Logan Anderson (baseball, Allen, Texas) and freshmen Will Beckham (baseball, Mountain Home), Katie Branch (softball, Waco, Texas), Lalita Fry (women’s soccer, Hot Springs), Aubree Goodnight (softball, Benton), Tobias Minkus (men’s soccer, Leipzig, Germany), Cameron Person (softball, Bonham, Texas), Andreya Reyna (women’s soccer, Mexia, Texas), Reagan White (softball, Carrollton, Texas) and Landon Williams (baseball, Stonewall, Louisiana) were named to the All-Academic first team for maintaining a 4.0 GPA.

Sophomore Shelbee LeJeune (softball, Maurice, Louisiana) and freshmen Ashlyn Bullington (softball, Plano, Texas), Mason Dougan (baseball, El Dorado), Mason Pankey (baseball, Jonesboro) and Gracie Redmon (softball, Benton) were named to the All-Academic second team for maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.80. 

Sophomores Josh Beezley (baseball, Sydney, Australia), Jadyn Hart (softball, Magazine) and Zach Murphy (baseball, Sydney, Australia) and freshmen Tom Butler (baseball, Sydney, Australia), Hunter Guill (baseball, Bentonville), Ricky Iselin (baseball, Rogers), Pedro Martinez (baseball, Cleburne, Texas), Cole Paxton (baseball, Zachary, Louisiana), Luis Soto (men’s soccer, Hamburg) and Omar Urribarri (men’s soccer, Katy, Texas)  were named to the All-Academic third team for maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.60. 

NPC softball was also recognized as a 2022-23 NJCAA Academic Team of the Year for boasting an impressive 3.37 team GPA. 

“Having nearly half of our team named to an NJCAA All-Academic Team shows that these girls have really bought in to our program’s academic philosophy,” NPC head softball coach Autumn Wyatt said. “We not only want to be competitive on the field, but also in the classroom. I am proud of these girls and their commitment to their studies as well as this program!”

“What an honor it is to have 25 of our student-athletes selected as All-Academic, as well as our women’s softball program being recognized as a team,” NPC Athletic Director and head baseball coach Rich Thompson said. “At National Park College, we pride ourselves on creating well-rounded individuals as well as athletes and this is showing in their selection. We congratulate these individuals on an outstanding achievement and we thank them for representing our institution to the highest standard.”

View photos of each honoree. For more information on schedules, rosters and more, visit Nighthawk Athleticsonline. Fans can also follow the Nighthawks all season on social media.