General 07/24/25 07:45 PM Brian Oakley

Northwest Women's Soccer / Football Top the Nation in GPA

116 Ranger athletes recognized on NJCAA All-Academic teams

CHARLOTTE - Twenty days ago it did not seem like the year could get better for Northwest women's soccer head coach James Beattie and his team.

The program not only brought home a perfect 22-0 season and an NJCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship, but they also had just been named the MACCC Women's Soccer Academic Team of the Year. The squad's 3.79 team GPA topped all conference members, giving them another victory to wrap up a memorable year.

That would not be their last victory of the season. Today, a week before the 2025 team reports for fall camp, the NJCAA offices in Charlotte announced that Beattie's squad was tops in the nation as the NJCAA Women's Soccer Academic Team of the Year. The ladies share the honor with their counterparts from Utah State University Eastern, who also finished the year with a 3.79 GPA.

This is the program's second time leading the nation in GPA. The Rangers also took the crown in 2021-22. According to the reports published at NJCAA.org, Northwest is one of only two programs to be awarded the top prize twice since 2018-19, which is the first year digital reports were archived on the site.

The good news for Northwest programs did not end there.

Northwest football head coach Benjy Parker's team claimed a back-to-back title as NJCAA Football Academic Team of the Year with a 3.25 GPA. This is the third time that Parker's squad has topped the national academic standings. The program earned the top spot in 2023-24 and was awarded it's first title in 2021-22.

The Rangers also have the distinction of being the only team in the NJCAA with a GPA above 3.00. When you add all of that to the fact that Northwest won the MACCC championship, then advanced to the NJCAA playoffs for the third time in the four-year history of the event, it was truly a special year.

Northwest was one of only six schools in the National Junior College Athletic Association to bring home multiple team awards.

Although no other Northwest team took home Academic Team of the Year awards, several more Ranger teams finished the school year with 3.0 GPAs or higher.

After earning MACCC All-Academic Team of the Year honors earlier this month, Chelsea Bramlett's softball team finished third in the nation with a 3.86 GPA, behind only Paris Junior College at 3.96 and Odessa College with a 3.87. Head coach Andy Wolf's men's tennis squad came in with a top five finish at 3.76, while the Northwest women's golf program, led by head coach Adam Payne, finished 14th at 3.57. All three of those programs also advanced to the national tournaments in their respective sports.

Other Northwest teams that finished with 3.0 GPAs or higher include Wolf's women's tennis team, who posted the highest GPA of all Northwest squads at 3.82. That team finished second in the nation academically, just behind conference foe Northeast Mississippi. Ranger women's tennis also advanced to the national tournament following a successful season.

Mark Carson's baseball squad posted a 3.56 team GPA, good enough for the 14th highest GPA in the nation. Payne's men's golf (3.45 also 14th), Allison Burchyett's volleyball (3.39), Michael Sullivan's men's soccer (3.35 - 19th) and LaTaryl Williams' women's basketball (3.03) teams round out the academic programs recognized by the NJCAA.

Additionally, 116 Northwest student-athletes received individual All-Academic honors from the NJCAA, with 39 earning NJCAA All-Academic First Team nods. To be eligible, student-athletes had to achieve an overall GPA of 3.60 or higher for the 2024-25 academic year.

Under the guidance of athletic academic advisors Charlesy Kennedy and Tori Fugatt, Northwest student-athletes had a strong year in the classroom. A total of 194 Rangers earned recognition to the Fall 2024 Athletic Director's Honor Roll, with 163 being selected for the Spring 2025 semester. Additionally, 191 Northwest student-athletes were named to the President's or Vice President's lists for the Fall 2024 semester, with 178 earning similar recognition for the spring. Northwest placed a total of 168 student-athletes on the Academic All-MACCC list, with 84 of those selections earning Distinguished Academic All-MACCC (3.80 - 4.00 GPA).

The criteria for the three All-Academic teams are listed below: