NJCAA All-Academic Team: Individuals | Teams

The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) recently announced its 2022-23 All-Academic Team and among those honored were five Lakeland Community College student-athletes and one Laker program.

The NJCAA honored 10,267 student-athletes across all sports and divisions for achieving a 3.6 grade-point average (GPA) or higher during the academic year.

Lakeland women’s basketball sophomore Brandy Smith (Orwell, Ohio/Grand Valley) and Laker softball sophomore Samantha Toke (Mantua, Ohio/Crestwood) were honored as members of the All-Academic first team for compiling perfect 4.0 GPAs during the 2022-23 academic year.

Representing Laker baseball, sophomore Kyle Zaluski (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin Falls) was named a member of the All-Academic second team, after securing a 3.80-3.99 GPA during the year. Lakeland men’s soccer sophomores Dillon Kruger (Westlake, Ohio/Westlake) and Xander Bergiers (Rijmenam, Belgium/Koninklijk Atheneum Keerbergen) were also recognized as members of the third team, posting GPAs between 3.60-3.79.

The Lakeland softball team was also recognized for achieving a 3.03 combined GPA during the year. The Lakers were honored by the NJCAA as one of 1,078 teams across all sports and divisions achieving a minimum 3.0 GPA during the year.