The College of the Canyons Athletics department recently hosted its annual Student-Athlete Academic Achievement Dinner, honoring more than 90 student-athletes who will be earning an associate degree this semester and/or transferring to a four-year school in the fall.

Included in that list were student-athletes from 15 of the college’s 17 intercollegiate athletic programs — and six dual-sport athletes.

These former Cougars — which combined to earn a 3.1 cumulative GPA — will soon be heading to four-year schools across the nation including:

Vanderbilt University, University of Michigan, University of Arkansas, Texas Tech University , Florida Atlantic University, Indiana State University, Arkansas State University, USC, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC Riverside, UC Davis, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Long Beach State, San Diego State, San Jose State, San Francisco State, Sonoma State, CSU Fullerton, CSU Northridge, CSU Channel Islands, CSU East Bay, CSU Los Angeles, Cal Lutheran, Fisher College, Henderson State, Kaiser University, Lubbock Christian University, MidAmerica Nazarene University, Mississippi Valley State University, Missouri State University, Ottawa University, Portland State University, South Dakota State University, University of Maine, University of San Diego, University of South Alabama, Presentation College, Missouri Valley College, and University of South Alabama — just to name a few.

“This is an outstanding group of talented individuals that has accomplished so much in just a few semesters. Each has exhibited an insatiable drive to the be the best at everything they do,” said College of the Canyons Chancellor Dr. Dianne Van Hook. “I marvel at their commitment to their education, along with their sport.”

Cougar student-athletes have also garnered a number of academic accolades in recent months.

COC track & field saw four student-athletes named to the 2018 Academic All-State team earlier this spring.

Additionally, Canyons had 11 football players named to the 2017 Southern California Football Association (SCFA) Scholar-Athlete Team.

The level of academic success achieved by the college’s student-athletes is not limited to the 2017-18 school year.

Earlier this semester the 2017 state champion COC men’s golf team — which posted a team GPA of 3.66 — was named the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Scholar Team Award recipient, representing the highest academic team achievement given annually by the CCCAA.

In addition, former standout COC baseball starting pitcher Justin Dehn was named to the 2016-17 CCCAA Scholar Athlete Honor Roll after maintaining a 3.79 transferable GPA during his two seasons of competition.

“The COC Athletics department is routinely among the state leaders in seeing its student-athletes matriculate and transfer to the next level, and that is something we take great pride in,” said Chuck Lyon, Dean of Physical Education, Kinesiology and Athletics at the college. “This group is a shining example of what it means to be a student first, and an athlete second.”

Photos from the 2018 Student-Athlete Academic Achievement Dinner can be found here.

Stay up to date on all this season’s action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.