MGCCC leads country with 5 Academic All-Americans
PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast leads the nation with five student-athletes named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-American Team in the Men's College Division.
The team includes three members of the national champion golf team: Stanley Campbell, John Mark Mills, and Ludvig Behring. Two soccer players are also honored: David Ruiz Ospina and Victor Moerck. Campbell, Mills, Ruiz Ospina and Moerck were on the First Team, with Behring on the Second Team.
The CSC Academic All-American program was established in 1952. It is the longest-running and premier award for athletic and academic success across college sports. Former winners include Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Candace Parker and Katie Ledecky.
Gulf Coast has had 13 student-athletes named to the men's Academic All-American team since 2019. There were 20 named to the College Division At-Large team this year. The College Division includes all community colleges, Canadian colleges and American four-year schools not associated with the NCAA or NAIA. The criteria for selection include athletic accomplishments.
STANLEY CAMPBELL, FIRST TEAM
The sophomore from London, England, finished with a 3.82 GPA in real estate while winning the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship and leading the Bulldogs to their second straight team national championship.
"It's a great achievement because it's not only my athletic career, it's what I did in the classroom," Campbell said. "Our coaches made a big point to us that it doesn't matter what you do on the course, you have to do all the other things right, like going to class and staying up to date on your schoolwork. I thought I did really well this year; when I had work to do, I went and knocked it out so I could spend more time on my golf."
Campbell won three tournaments and had eight top-three finishes. He was 13-for-13 in top-10 finishes, compiling the third-lowest scoring average in school history (71.36). He won the Arnold Palmer Award for being medalist at the national championship and was a finalist for the Gary Player Award, given to the top international players in college golf. He was named to the PING All-American First Team was the Hubert Tucker Award winner for low average in MACCC Tournaments.
Campbell will continue his college career at NCAA Division I Jacksonville State. He found that concentrating on making his practice time as efficient as possible helped him in the classroom.
"I'm not going to spend four hours doing one thing," he said. "I'm gonna go there and do my thing, and I'm gonna do it right. So then I can go back and study in the nighttime so I could make use of all the sun for the golf. When the sun sets, the boys know I'm always in the LRC (Learning Resource Center) or in my room studying for my next test."
JOHN MARK MILLS, FIRST TEAM
The sophomore from Pontotoc finished with a 3.94 GPA in entrepreneurship. He finished 11th at the national championship, playing a key role in the Bulldogs' title defense.
"It's awesome," Mills said. "It just goes to all the hard work in and out of the classroom throughout the year. It's doing the little things right and keeping my head down and doing what I'm supposed to do. It feels great to be acknowledged for that."
He finished third in the Clippd National Collegiate Golf Rankings and racked up two tournament wins. He also tied after 36 holes for another first-place but lost the playoff, racking up seven top-3 finishes and nine All-Tournament Team selections. Mills was on the PING All-American First Team and NJCAA All-American Second Team.
Mills will continue playing college golf at NCAA Division I Austin Peay, using the time-management lessons learned here at Perk.
"I just set out scheduled times," he said. "I set out time in the day where I'm gonna make sure my homework is done, go to the LRC, setting it around our golf practice. I had that all planned out where it wouldn't interfere with anything."
DAVID RUIZ OSPINA, FIRST TEAM
The sophomore keeper from Manizales, Colombia, was one of four members of the Academic All-American team with perfect 4.0 GPA, with his coming in marketing and communication strategy.
"When I went to the U.S., I had these goals," Ruiz Ospina said. "For me, it means a lot because I've been looking for scholarships and financial aid to help with my career. I always give my best, not just on the field but in the classroom. I didn't know about awards like this, so I was just doing my best because that's my goal."
When it comes to greatest keepers in Gulf Coast history, Ruiz Ospina is on the shortest of short lists. He finished with a 12-4-5 record as a sophomore, winning 25 matches and putting up 12 shutouts over his two seasons. This year, he had a 1.10 goals-against average, helping lead the Bulldogs to their second NJCAA Tournament appearance in school history. As a freshman, he backstopped the MACCC championship squad.
An MGCCC Honors College selectee tapped for Phi Theta Kappa, he was a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American while earning a spot NJCAA All-American Second Team. Ruiz Ospina was named to the All-Mississippi Academic Team.
Ruiz Ospina is headed to NCAA Division II Lake Erie.
"I was never the best one academically (before), but I just found the motivation to do it here," he said. "I did the things I had to do every day. I left the classroom and went straight to the LRC and did the little things during the week that I knew were going to be difficult for me. The most difficult thing was the language, but there are so many great people who helped me out. I always had great communication with the professors, and people were always there for me."
VICTOR MOERCK, FIRST TEAM
The sophomore forward from Vaerlose, Denmark, graduated with a 3.95 GPA in business administration. He scored 15 goals and had eight assists for the Bulldogs.
"You try to achieve the highest possible results in everything you do, and I'm sure that's the same for every sportsman," Moerck said. "It means just as much as winning on the field means to me. It always feels really great to win something off the field as well, so I'm very proud of that. I'm very proud of myself, but also my teammates who always pushed me to be the better version of myself, both on and off the field."
He helped lead the team to the second NJCAA Tournament berth in its history. In the MACCC championship season of 2023, he had 17 goals and six assists. Moerck was a United Soccer Coaches All-American as a sophomore, while earning All-MACCC honors for the second team.
Moerck is headed to NCAA Division I Drexel to continue his soccer career.
"My time at Gulf Coast has taught me a lot," he said. "At first, you get thrown into both things, and you really have to keep on track. But with the help of both teammates and the coaches and the rest of the staff, they always helped a great amount. Everybody wants everyone to succeed the best as possible, and everybody thinks about everyone else. It's a great mix of being competitive but also having the help and support that you need from around you when you're there."
LUDVIG BEHRING, SECOND TEAM
The sophomore from Sollentuna, Sweden, completed his studies in economics with a 3.95 GPA. He finished tied for sixth at the national championship.
"It's about persistence," Behring said. "Awards may come and go, but at the end of the day, it's all about the work you put in. I can say I truly put in my best work, and I'm just proud of that because I fought for that as well as the national championship."
He won the MACCC Championship, finishing 14th in the Clippd National Collegiate Golf Rankings. He had six top-10 finishes and earned a spot on the NJCAA All-American First Team. He was also named to the PING All-South Region Team.
After earning spots on five All-Tournament Teams, Behring is headed to NCAA Division I Lindenwood University in St. Louis, Mo.
"It's pretty hard to balance it, no matter what you do," he said. "I just try to clean things off. I'd get the schoolwork done; that was always the first priority. When you're done with the schoolwork, you can focus totally on the golf. You can't do two things at the same time, and you've got to be selective. Whenever and whatever you do, you've got to give it 100 percent."
For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
