NJCAA Fall Sport Alumni find Success at the Next Level
Charlotte, NC – As the 2023 NCAA Division I fall sports season is ending, the NJCAA is highlighting alumni who continued their success at the next level and received conference awards.
All the NJCAA fall sports, including cross country, football, soccer, and volleyball, were represented by alumni who received a season-ending award from their four-year institution's conference. Twelve total alumni took home an individual conference award representing eleven NJCAA member colleges.
NJCAA football is represented by two alumni receiving awards: Diego Pavia and Mark Barthelemy. The NJCAA saw 54 former players receive All-Conference team honors including twelve Power Five conference honorees. Iowa Western had six alumni named to All-Conference teams with four from Independence (KS) and Northwest Mississippi.
Former New Mexico Military quarterback Diego Pavia was selected as the Conference-USA Offensive Player of the Year for New Mexico State. Pavia led the Aggies to the second 10-win season in program history, and the first since 1960. New Mexico State also reached the CUSA Championship Game in the Aggies' first year as a member of the league and NM State is headed to its second consecutive bowl game, a feat that has only been accomplished one other time in program history. Pavia has completed 210-341 passes for 2,915 yards with 26 touchdowns to just eight interceptions and has also carried 158 times for 853 yards and six more scores on the ground. The Albuquerque native orchestrated the nation's 12th-best rushing attack in the country (202.7 yards per game) as the team's leading rusher. He enters bowl season ranked 14th nationally in passing touchdowns (26), 15th in FBS in yards per completion (13.88), 18th in points responsible for (192), 21st in yards per pass attempt (8.55), and has the fourth-most rushing yards by a quarterback (853). Pavia played two seasons at New Mexico Military (2020-21) where he led the Broncos to the 2021 NJCAA DI Football National Championship. The Broncos quarterback finished his career with 21 games played, 2,644 passing yards, and 31 touchdowns.
Former Tyler (TX) Apaches student-athlete, Mark Barthelemy was selected as the Southland Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year for Nicholls State. Mark Barthelemy was a stalwart on a dominant Nicholls offensive front and anchored a Nicholls offense that averages 162.4 rushing yards per game and has only allowed 1.70 sacks per game this season. Those numbers rose in conference play as the Nicholls offense rushed for 219.7 yards per game and averaged 33.2 points per game. Barthelemy was a part of the 2019-2020 Apache squad that went 4-5 with 363 average yards, 176.3 average rushing yards, 186.7 average passing yards, and averaged 24.2 points per game.
NJCAA women's soccer was represented by three alumni receiving awards: Kendyl Terrell, Kaoru Hayashi, and Sydney Bushman. 15 former NJCAA student-athletes were selected to All-Conference teams. Snow (UT) was represented by four alumni, Jones (MS) with three, and Mohawk Valley (NY) with two.
Former Jones Bobcat, Kendyl Terrell was selected as the Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year for Jackson State. Terrell led Jackson State in every major statistical category this past season. The senior recorded a team-leading 19 points with eight goals on 44 shots. Terrell led the team with 19 shots on goal and tied the team-lead assists mark. She also led the team with three match-winning goals and played in 17 matches while starting 14 with 1,135 minutes played. Terrell played for Jones from 2020-21 and compiled a list of accolades for the Bobcats including being named a two-time All-American and two-time All-MACC. Terrell also had a big-time accomplishment in high school as she was the first female to score points in an MHSAA State Championship Football Game.
Snow College was represented by two alumni: Kaoru Hayashi and Sydney Bushman. Hayashi received the Horizon League's All-League Sportsmanship Award for Robert Morris while Bushman was named Western Athletic Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year for Utah Valley. Hayashi was a member of the 2018 and 2019 squad where she played in 18 games with six goals and four assists for 16 points. The Badgers won back-to-back Scenic West Athletic Conference Championships and played in the 2019 NJCAA DI Women's Soccer Championship. Hayashi has played in 45 games with 8 goals, 12 assists, and 28 points for Robert Morris in three seasons. Former teammate Sydney Bushman, a senior defender for Utah Valley, helped lead a defensive front that secured the WAC regular season title for the second consecutive year. Bushman and the Wolverine defense only allowed three goals in conference play. She recorded four goals, two assists, and 10 points over 17 matches, picking up seven clean sheets. Bushman spent one season at Snow where she played in 16 matches and scored six goals from her defensive position. The Badgers went on to play in the 2019 NJCAA DI Women's Soccer Championship and Bushman was selected as a NJCAA All-America Honorable Mention. Snow honored Bushman with its Female Athlete of the Year Award.
NJCAA men's soccer was represented by a total of 23 alumni receiving All-Conference honors with Luis Flores and Roberto Ordonez receiving individual awards. Iowa Western was represented by four alumni with Cowley (KS), Dallas-Richland (TX), and Daytona State (FL) having two.
Luis Flores, a Tyler Junior College alumni, was named Offensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year for Oral Roberts. Flores also made First Team All-Conference and the All-Newcomer Team as he ended the season tied for the Division I lead with 15 goals. The Oral Roberts forward led all Summit League players with seven goals against conference opponents and had three-game winners for the Golden Eagles. He is the fifth straight Oral Roberts player to receive Offensive Player of the Year. Flores also finished the season with four Summit League Men's Soccer Offensive Peak Performer of the Week honors. During his time at Tyler, Flores earned NJCAA All-America honors with 12 goals, 10 assists, and a total of 34 points. Flores played in 18 games with 18 starts with five game-winning goals.
Former Western Texas student-athlete, Roberto Ordonez was named Offensive Player of the Year for Cal State Fullerton. Ordonez also received First Team All-Conference honors as he leads the conference in point scores and is ranked ninth in the nation with 28 points. As a redshirt junior, Ordonez finished the season with nine goals and 10 assists, leading most in the league with assists. Ordonez is also the first-ever Offensive Player of the Year for Cal State Fullerton. The midfielder for Cal State played in 17 games with 14 starts for a total of 1,008 minutes on the season. Ordonez was out his first season with the Titans due to a muscle tear. Before Cal State, Ordonez was a member of the Western Texas soccer team where he played for two seasons and had five goals with five assists his freshman season and nine goals with five assists his sophomore year.
NJCAA volleyball was represented by a total of 13 alumni receiving All-Conference honors. Isabel Martin, Kiaraliz Perez, Mio Yamamoto, and Andrea Tsvetanova received individual awards.
Isabel Martin, a Hillsborough Community College (FL) alumni, was named Mountain West Co-Player of the Year. Martin, a redshirt senior at UNLV also received First Team All-Conference honors as she ended the season averaging 4.28 kills per set and tallied 295 kills, 41 blocks, 18 service aces, and 338.5 points for the Rebels. She was also named to the Mountain West All-Tournament Team and named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week two times. Martin finished second in the conference for both kills per set and points per set. During her two seasons at Hillsborough, Martin earned Division I FCSAA All-State honors, NJCAA All-Region 8 honors, DI FCSAA Ilida Medero Award recipient, and was selected to the Division I FCSAA All-State and All-Tournament teams. Martin was also named to the All-Suncoast Conference First Team in her freshman season.
Miami Dade (FL) alum Kiaraliz Perez was named the Western Athletic Conference Libero of the Year for Texas-Rio Grande Valley and also received First Team All-Conference honors. As a junior, Perez finished the season leading the WAC in digs per set with 4.83. She also recorded four 20-plus dig performances with a career-high 28 digs against Houston Christian. At Miami Dade, Perez helped the Sharks to back-to-back NJCAA DI Volleyball Championship appearances where they finished runner-up. Perez was named to the Division I FCSAA All-State and All-Tournament teams and was an All-Suncoast Conference First Team selection in 2021 and Second Team honoree in 2022. She was also a two-time NJCAA Division I Region 8 Defensive Player of the Week honoree and led the NJCAA Division I Region 8 in digs per set with 416.
Former New Mexico Military standout, Mio Yamamoto, was named Sun Belt Conference Libero of the Year for Louisiana where she also received First Team All-Conference honors. Yamamoto finished the regular season as the Sun Belt leader in total digs with 296 in conference matches and averaged 4.0 plus digs per set in each of the final seven conference series. The Louisiana junior was named SBC Defensive Player of the Week twice and is the only player to do so. During her two seasons at New Mexico Military, Yamamoto was a two-time NJCAA All-American and finished second in the country in digs per set with 6.70. As a freshman, she received first-team NJCAA Division I All-America honors after having the second-most digs in the country with 796.
Andrea Tsvetanova, a Western Nebraska alumni, was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Setter of the Year and received First Team All-Conference honors. The Coppin State senior finished the season with 9.44 assists per set and 925 total assists overall, sitting at the 80th-highest total among all Division I student-athletes. Tsvetanova led the MEAC Conference and is ranked fourth nationally in total service aces with 58 and aces per set with 0.59. She ranks second in the conference in assist performances with 16 30-assist performances and seven double-doubles. At Western Nebraska, Tsvetanova played two seasons for the Cougars where she led the nation in assists with 1,259 during her sophomore season. She also ranked second with 10.95 assists per set and had a recorded 49 aces, 26 blocks, 2.43 digs per set, and 13 double-doubles. Tsvetanova was named to the All-Region and All-Tournament teams in her sophomore season and was named Region 9 South Setter of the Year.
NJCAA cross country was represented by five women's all-conference honorees and twelve men's all-conference honorees. Former Hutchinson (KS) Blue Dragon, Teagan Flanagan was named the Sun Belt Conference Male Runner of the Year for South Alabama.
Teagan Flanagan finally claimed medalist honors at the 2023 SBC Championships with a time of 23:57.2 after placing runner-up the last two seasons. Flanagan lettered two years in both cross country and track & field at Hutchinson where he earned NJCAA All-American honors six times and was an eight-time all-region and all-conference honoree. A First-Team All-American selection after finishing fifth at the 2020 NJCAA DI Cross Country Championships while finishing inside the top 5 in all five of his cross country events in 2020. Teagan earned All-Regional 6 and All-Jayhawk West honors in cross country as a freshman.