There are 22 ECC student athletes in both men’s and women’s sports who received the NJCAA All-Academic Honors in the 2024-2025 academic year. 

For the men’s sports, the student athletes who receive the award are Antonio Alanis, Jack Bennett, Matt Brunscheen, Reed Burns, Justin Ceisel, Jack Kerno, Enzo Novelli, Sean Riordan, Wyatt Sabalaskey, Jake Russell, Max Fessler, Matt Crumlett and Samuel Penna. 

In women’s sports, the student athletes who earned the award are Elena Carlos, Ashley Crisci, Adeline Kinsella, Peyton Kohn, Zoie Adamson, Maile Fuller, Zoe Kaler, Val Costilla and Maria Misiaszek. 

ECC Women’s Softball First Baseman/Outfielder Maile Fuller expresses her thoughts regarding the NJCAA All-Academic Honor that she received from the 2024-25 academic year. 

She commented on the process of getting her 2024-2025 NJCAA All Academic Honor. 

“I earned it because I was really on top of my grades. I maintained a 4.0 GPA and I think I was able to balance both school and softball at the same time.” 

Fuller explained how she got her GPA. 

“I made sure to always stay in touch with my teachers and let them know whenever I had conflicts. Just always communicating was, I think, my biggest thing, and just letting them know whenever I had questions, so I could always just stay on top of my work.” 

According to Fuller, she replied to a question regarding the amount of study hours during the softball season. 

“Normally, I think I study about eight hours a day. Then it varies with how much time I have, because we have games on some days. Sometimes, I’ll study a little bit longer than I need to but I always found a way to work it out.” 

The First Baseman/Outfielder mentioned that she has more time to do schoolwork during the offseason. 

 “This semester, even though it’s just the fall season, I loaded up my classes on two specific days so I have more time to focus on schoolwork on the other day.” 

She mentioned the classes that she is taking this semester. 

“I’m currently taking four classes which are art appreciation, sociology, environmental geology and managerial accounting.” 

Fuller explained how she balances between school and playing softball during the season. 

“I would say I adjust my sleep schedule a little bit more. I tend to go to bed a little bit earlier, but I wake up earlier, so I have more time to focus on work earlier in the day. In the afternoon, when it’s time for softball, I don’t have to do as much work right after.” 

She stated the amount of hours she usually sleeps each day. 

“ It varies. Sometimes I get as little as six hours, but I typically get about eight hours on a normal day.” 

According to Fuller, The First Baseman/Outfielder noted the time of the day she works on her homework. 

“Currently, I normally get most of my work done between 8am to 12 o’clock, so then I have the rest of the evening. But during the actual season, I normally get it done around like eight o’clock.” 

She replied if being a student athlete is easy or hard. 

“I would say, in the beginning, it was definitely a little bit challenging, but once I was able to manage my time a little bit better. It definitely got easier.” 

Fuller explains the differences between being a student athlete here at ECC and her time in High School. 

“ It’s definitely more important to focus on your schoolwork, but you also have way more time to do both of them, if that makes sense. They both definitely had their own challenges. I’d say maybe it’s a little bit more challenging, just because the workload is very different than what it was in high school.” 

She explained which class is her favorite. 

“I would say either my honor sociology class or my managerial accounting class.” 

Fuller explained why she chose those classes as her favorites. 

“I like my honor sociology class for the reason that we talk about issues in today’s society and we relate to everything that’s happening currently, but we also still like to learn a lot. I like managerial accounting because it targets more towards the career I want to get into. I’m also good with numbers, so that helps a lot.” 

The First Baseman/Outfielder gave an explanation on the most difficult part about being a student athlete at ECC. 

“I’d say the most difficult part is probably getting into the routine at the very beginning, because it always just takes a little bit to get to a new schedule, but after a couple of months, I’ve gotten more used to it, so it’s been a little bit easier. I would say definitely in the beginning, the schedule change was the difficult part.” 

Fuller gives advice for future student athletes who want to be successful both in the classroom and sports. 

“I’d say the most important thing is growing a relationship with your professors, mainly because they are there to help you. You just always have to be comfortable with reaching out to them, because even though you’ll have a difficult schedule, communicating with them will definitely make your life way easier. Always, don’t be afraid to do extra work outside of your sport, like going to the gym, going on runs, definitely helps with your in sports as well.” 

She encourages future student athletes to talk to someone in the athletics department to check in on their mental health. 

“I would recommend student athletes talking to Melanie. She’s definitely a huge help. I didn’t really know who Mel was in the very beginning, but once we started softball practice, I learned who she was, and got really comfortable with her. And she definitely made my school year go by way easier.” 

Fuller is proud to have a good work ethic and a good GPA in order to receive an NJCAA All-Academic Honor.  

Outfielder Antonio Alanis reflects on his journey on receiving his NJCAA All-Academic Honor. 

He started playing baseball when he was 8 years old and he would continue playing high school baseball at Streamwood High School. 

Alanis explains how he balances both academic and athletics as a student athlete. 

“I just say discipline. It’s pretty hard, but you just have to maintain it. Just got to do your work. As much as it sucks. You just have to stay disciplined.” 

The second year outfielder gets 2 to 4 hours of studying time during baseball season. 

“I would study like for example, I come home at like seven, I’ll do my homework from like eight to 10 or like eight to 12am. Then, I would sleep at like 12:30 a lot.” Alanis said. 

In the offseason, Alanis would get between 4 to 5 hours of studying time. 

During the season, he mentioned that he does his homework either during the bus ride or after the game. 

“If it’s a long ride back to school,  I’ll do it on the bus. Normally, I do homework after the games.” Alanis said. 

The second year outfielder gave advice for future student athletes who want to pursue an NJCAA All-Academic Honor.

“Stay disciplined and make sure you’re using your time properly. Don’t wait till the last minute to do all your work. Just stay ahead and you’ll be fine.” Alanis mentioned. 

Sophomore third baseman/shortstop Matthew Brunscheen explains his experience playing baseball in high school. 

“ I did play baseball for Kaneland High School, and I played shortstop and third base there as well. It was nice. I really like my coaches, and I feel like our team has some great chemistry as well. I still talk to some of the guys.” 

During high school, he balances his time between baseball and academics by working on homework for each of his classes that he took. 

“I kind of had the same plans I do in college. I have a schedule. Each day is like a different class so I work in a different class for each day. For example, Monday might be math and Tuesday is English, and that’s kind of what works best for me.” Brunscheen said. 

Currently, he is taking five classes in the current fall semester. Brunscheen keeps track of his classes using a calendar. 

“I have a calendar on my phone which keeps track of when all my assignments are due.” 

The third baseman/shortstop mentioned that he usually has 3 to 4 hours of studying time during the offseason. During the season, he has less studying hours because of baseball. 

“It’s definitely more challenging. I study on the bus and I get my homework done. That would probably be about two to three hours during the season, because I got less time on my hands.” Brunscheen commented. 

According to Brunscheen, he works on homework once he gets home from playing baseball.  

“Actually, I do almost all of my homework and my academics at night. Usually, I’m a night owl so I’ll wake up, go to practice at one o’clock, and then after that, going to the gym, I’ll come home, and if I don’t have work that day, then I’ll just l do homework until, until I’m ready to go to bed.” 

Brunscheen uses the resources that ECC has to offer. 

“I’ve gone to the library before to just study after practice instead of having to drive home. I go straight to the library and get my homework and my studying done so it’s pretty convenient.” he said. 

The third baseman/shortstop explains the time that he felt overwhelmed. 

“When I had a double header, this was last year. I had a double header, and then I had to get home and then give a speech about taking communication online for my speech class and I had to give a speech to my family after playing two baseball games.” Brunscheen explained. 

His advice for future student athletes who want to receive an NJCAA All-Academic Honor in the near future is to have a plan. 

“Plan out your classes and your due dates and when you need to get things done. That’s what I would give my advice to future ECC student athletes.” Brunscheen said. 

It takes good work ethic, discipline and good time management to be successful as a student athlete here at ECC.