The Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference has released its annual list of academic teams of the year, and three Northwest programs have finished with the best GPA of their respective sports.
Northwest softball, baseball and rodeo all finished as MACCC Academic Teams of the Year, tying Mississippi Gulf Coast for second in the conference in terms of teams earning academic honors. Only Itawamba finished higher, with four of their teams earning Academic Team of the Year accolades.
Northwest fielded a 3.68 GPA in softball, earning MACCC Academic Team of the Year honors for the second consecutive season. This marks the third straight season that coach Chelsea Bramlett‘s club has posted a 3.5 or higher.
On the diamond, the Rangers’ baseball squad finished with a 3.59 GPA, continuing its rising trend over the last three years. Last season, coach Mark Carson‘s team finished with a 3.41 GPA, up from the previous average of a 3.38 from the 2020-21 academic year.
For rodeo, coach Will Lummus’ first season was a success both in the arena and in the classroom. The Rangers posted a 3.24 GPA, beating out the other MACCC rodeo programs.
Last year, a total of five Northwest teams earned MACCC Academic Team of the Year accolades: softball, women’s basketball, volleyball, football and women’s soccer. In 2020-21, both football and women’s basketball received the honors.
