POMONA -- Despite an unprecedented end to the 2019-2020 academic year that saw classes in the spring shift from in-person to virtual in a matter of days due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, the student-athletes of Cal Poly Pomona's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics didn't skip a beat, shattering all-time academic records across the board.

For starters, the collective grade point average by CPP's 225 student-athletes for the Spring 2020 semester was a 3.37, shattering previous department records.  A total of 173 student-athletes (77 percent of the entire department) boasted a Spring 2020 semester GPA of 3.00 or higher, and 92 student-athletes earned Dean's List recognition.

"These results reflect the unwavering commitment that our student-athletes, coaches, and staff have to academic success at Cal Poly Pomona," said Assistant Athletics Director for Student Services Scott Tsuji.  "It also takes a tremendous collaborative effort with campus support services to achieve these results.  We are very proud of our student-athletes, especially in these unprecedented and challenging times."

Here's a breakdown of the academic success achieved by the Bronco student-athletes in 2019-20, all of which broke all-time athletics department records:

• Spring 2020 term GPA:  3.37
• CPP GPA for academic year:  3.21
• CPP GPA:  3.18
• Overall GPA:  3.17
• 92 student-athlete Dean's List recognitions (12.0 units of graded coursework with a 3.50 or higher GPA)
• 173 (of 225) student-athletes w/ 3.00 or higher Spring term GPA (77 percent)
• 9 of 10 teams had a Spring term GPA of 3.21 or higher

In addition, eight of the 10 teams sponsored by the CPP athletics department earned their all-time highs for a term GPA, led by women's soccer, which produced a 3.59 in the classroom this Spring, breaking the all-time term GPA record for any sport in the department's history.  All 10 teams saw an improvement in their GPA's between the Fall 2019 semester and the Spring 2020 semester, highlighted by an increase of 0.66 from men's soccer, going from a 2.80 in the Fall to a 3.46 in the Spring.  The team GPA's for Spring 2020 were as follows:

• Women's Soccer - 3.59* (+0.47)
• Women's Track & Field -- 3.58* (+0.42)
• Men's Soccer -- 3.46* (+0.66)
• Women's Cross Country -- 3.43* (+0.45)
• Volleyball -- 3.43* (+0.28)
• Women's Basketball -- 3.42* (+0.29)
• Men's Track & Field -- 3.36* (+0.17)
• Baseball -- 3.33* (+0.23)
• Men's Cross Country -- 3.21 (+0.13)
• Men's Basketball -- 2.94 (+0.23)

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The asterisks next to the GPA's indicate an all-time high GPA for the program, and the figures in parentheses indicate the difference in team GPA's from Fall 2019 to Spring 2020.)

Also on Thursday, the CCAA announced the Spring All-Academic Team, and collectively, CPP garnered 60 All-Academic Awards between the Fall, Winter and Spring sport seasons.  A list of those student-athletes honored by the CCAA for being at least a sophomore with a 3.30 cumulative grade point average is below.

Not only did the Broncos shine in the classroom, but they also enjoyed success in competition up until the abrupt cancellation of the remaining spring schedule in mid-March.  The combined win-loss record of all six team sports was 88-51-6 (a winning percentage of .628), and in CCAA play, the teams were 67-30-4 (a winning percentage of .683).  The Broncos featured two All-Americans in Jimmie Villalobos of men's soccer and Ayana Fields of women's indoor track and field, produced 27 All-Region selections and 39 All-CCAA (or CCAA All-Star) nods.  At the conclusion of the fall 2019 sport seasons, Cal Poly Pomona was ranked at No. 11 nationally for athletic success (out of approximately 308 Division II institutions), and was the top CCAA institution in the standings out of the 13 conference schools.  Seven of the eight teams that completed their regular season campaign advanced to the CCAA and/or NCAA playoffs, and Ayana Fields was the lone CPP representative at the 2020 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships in two events in the women's indoor track and field program's inaugural season.

Men's soccer won the CCAA Tournament championship and hosted a NCAA Division II Second Round game, women's soccer made a NCAA Division II Tournament appearance for the first time since 2014 piloted by the NCAA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year consisting of head coach Jay Mason and assistants Katie Smith and Dan Richards, men's cross country placed second at the NCAA Division II West Region Championships, the program's highest finish since 2006, women's and men's basketball both advanced to the NCAA West Regional – one of only two institutions in the West Region (other being UCSD) that had both basketball teams qualify.

The Broncos were also very active in the community, making 20 pet beds out of recycled materials and donating them to the Inland Valley Humane Society, visiting local middle schools and talked to 7th and 8th graders about college and college athletics while making time to also play sport-specific games with them, participated in the CCAA Food Drive and donated over 800 food items to the Poly Pantry, and also created and implemented an Inclusion and Diversity Social Media Campaign.

2019-20 CCAA FALL, WINTER AND SPRING ALL-ACADEMIC AWARD WINNERS

Women's Cross Country:
Sierra Boyd
Elizabeth Hernandez
Araseli Servin

Men's Cross Country:
Jeremiah Suzara
Richard Szutu

Women's Soccer:
Jazmin Duran
Amanda Faber
Elise Garcia
Allyssa Larkin
Tori Morton
Cassidy Overstreet
Ambria Pogue
Samantha Putnam
Clarissa Sanchez
Katie Stein

Men's Soccer:
Alon Grod
Ori Kenett
Adam Lopez
Fabian Roman

Volleyball:
Kaitlin Powell
Brynn Sherbert
Jane Woodward
Kira Zimmerman

Women's Basketball:
Jackie Ricketson
Jayda Villareal

Men's Basketball:
Tavian Henderson

Baseball:
Drew Atherton
Shane Gipson
Andre Henson
Cade Kirkemo
Ryon Knowles
Cesar Lopez
Matt Manskar
Nick Peifer
Gavin Velasquez

Women's Track & Field:
Avia Bateman
Charisma Byrd
Ayana Fields
Elizabeth Hernandez
Taina Livai
Ashley McBean
Anela Miki-Han
Ryanne Napoleon
Macy Rivas
Gabby Sanabria
Abbigail Sharma
Hannah Stueve
Imani Williams

Men's Track & Field:
Ben Anderson
Ryan Fields
Nicholas Guajardo
Aaron Guerra-Garcia
Kenneth Hamel
Jalen Jenkins
Kyle Johnston
Kyle Lawson
Matteo Madrassi
William Pritchard
Jeremiah Suzara
Richard Szutu