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BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Texas Southmost College student-athletes are proving they can excel both on the field and in the classroom.<\/p>\n
Thirteen TSC student-athletes were named to the 2025-26 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Academic teams, setting a record for the college since athletics were reinstated in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am extremely proud of all 13 student-athletes,\u201d said TSC Interim Athletic Director and Men\u2019s Soccer Head Coach Mario Zamora. \u201cThis recognition reflects their commitment, discipline and ability to excel both academically and athletically. They represent what it means to be a true student-athlete at Texas Southmost College.\u201d<\/p>\n
To earn NJCAA All-Academic recognition, student-athletes must maintain a grade-point average of at least 3.60. Those with a perfect 4.0 GPA are named to the First Team, student-athletes with GPAs between 3.80 and 3.99 earn Second Team honors, and those with GPAs between 3.60 and 3.79 are named to the Third Team.<\/p>\n
The TSC women\u2019s soccer team led the way with seven All-Academic selections, the most the program has produced in a single season since it was reinstated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m incredibly proud of these seven young women,\u201d said TSC Women\u2019s Soccer Head Coach Jesus Villarreal. \u201cEarning All-Academic recognition isn\u2019t just about being a good student or a good athlete. It\u2019s about making the commitment to excel in both areas every single day. As coaches, we emphasize developing the whole person, and these ladies truly embraced that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two women\u2019s soccer players, Lilian Barrera and Camila Minez, earned First Team honors.<\/p>\n
\u201cLilian\u2019s story is one of perseverance,\u201d Villarreal said. \u201cShe played one year, had to sit out the next after falling short academically, but she never gave up. She worked hard, got back on track, returned to the team and earned First Team All-Academic honors. I\u2019m incredibly proud of the way she responded to adversity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minez has also distinguished herself through her commitment to academics.<\/p>\n
\u201cCamila set a great example by taking her academics seriously while competing at a high level,\u201d Villarreal said. \u201cShe showed that success as a student-athlete comes from being disciplined and committed in the classroom just as much as on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three cross country athletes earned All-Academic honors, including First Team selection Ilce Ceballos.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer journey to becoming an All-Academic First Team honoree wasn’t given, it was earned through sacrifice, discipline, and an unwavering commitment to excellence,\u201d said TSC Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s Cross Country Head Coach Basilio Mendoza.<\/p>\n
Six of the 13 student-athletes honored this year will return to compete for TSC during the 2026-27 academic year.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the others have graduated or moved on to four-year institutions, which is something we are also very proud of,\u201d Zamora said. \u201cSeeing our student-athletes continue their education and athletic careers after TSC is one of the most rewarding parts of our job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Texas Southmost College NJCAA All-Academic Selections<\/strong><\/p>\n First Team<\/strong><\/p>\n Second Team<\/strong><\/p>\n Third Team<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”10056,10057,10058″ show_title_and_caption=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_gallery][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Texas Southmost College student-athletes are proving they can excel both on the field and in the classroom.\n
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\nThirteen TSC student-athletes were named to the 2025-26 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Academic teams, setting a record for the college since athletics were reinstated in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":10056,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_gspb_post_css":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,124,329,143],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-life","category-tsc-athletics","category-tsc-cross-country","category-tsc-soccer","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n