Butler County Community College topped the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference’s spring sports all-academic team for a second consecutive year with 30 student-athletes that include Joel Stutz and Mackenzie Craig, who became the Pioneers’ all-time scorers in men’s and women’s basketball, respectively, and led their programs to conference crowns in the same season for the first time ever.
To be eligible for the WPCC all-academic spring and fall sports teams, student-athletes must carry a minimum of 12 credit hours. Those with grade-point averages between 3.0 and 3.49 attain honors, and those with GPAs from 3.5 to 4.0, high honors.
Both Stutz, a Butler High graduate who finished his BC3 career with 1,366 points; and Craig, a Karns City High graduate who ended with 1,277 and a program-record 966 rebounds; were recognized for attaining high honors and were named to the WPCC all-academic team for a fourth time since fall 2017.
The Pioneers’ women’s basketball team won its third WPCC title in four years by beating the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville 62-43 on Feb. 16. A day later, BC3’s men’s squad captured its first championship since 1994 and fifth overall by beating Pennsylvania Highlands Community College 96-84.
Craig in April became the first student-athlete in BC3 history to be selected as a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American in two sports, volleyball and women’s basketball.