The Highland Cougar Athletic Department is proud to announce five (5) Cougar teams and twenty-two (22) individuals earned National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Academic honors for the 2023-2024 academic year.
To earn NJCAA All-Academic Honors, individual student-athletes are awarded first-team status with a 4.0 GPA throughout the academic year.   Second-team honorees consist of student-athletes with a 3.80-3.99 GPA, and third-team recipients posted a GPA of 3.60-3.79.
The minimum GPA requirement to receive All-American Team status is a team GPA of 3.0.
"We are very proud of our twenty-two (22) Cougar student-athletes and five (5) athletic teams for earning NJCAA All-Academic honors and recognition.  We strive for excellence in competition, classroom, and community and this a wonderful accomplishment by many of our student-athletes and teams.  This is a result of dedicated student-athletes, coaching staff, Highland faculty and staff, and of course, all the wonderful people who are part of Cougar Nation," commented Highland Cougar Athletic Director Pete Norman.   "It is truly a campus-wide and community-wide effort in helping our students succeed at Highland."
Listed below are the Highland Cougar student-athletes who earned NJCAA All-Academic recognition:

NJCAA All-Academic Team (4.0 GPA)
Brooke Boettner – Volleyball, Softball
Ellah Dorn – Volleyball
Hayden Moon – Golf
Sloane Ambrose – Softball
Brianna Stager – Softball
Marie Louise de Jong – Women's basketball

NJCAA All-Academic Second Team (3.80-3.99 GPA)
Cyrus Huggard-Noel – Men's Basketball
Chelsey Mashaw – Volleyball
Emanuel Lantigua Paulino – Baseball
Jason Nieman – Men's Cross Country

NJCAA All-Academic Third Team (3.60-3.79 GPA)
Troy Cole – Men's Basketball
Ashlee Fisher – Volleyball
Sarah Kempel – Women's Basketball
Benjamin Sprenger Rojas – Golf
Case Rockey – Baseball
Mary Zettle - Volleyball, Women's Basketball, Softball
Hannah Visel – Women's Cross Country
Hannah Bowers – Softball
Neelah Vandeberg – Softball
 
The following Highland Cougar teams received All-Academic Team status:
Baseball – 3.10 GPA
Men's Basketball – 3.14 GPA
Golf – 3.48 GPA
Volleyball – 3.33 GPA
Softball – 3.42 GPA