Former Bulldog Ryan Welker Among 15 in State Named to 2014 Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll

Ryan Welker is in the middle of his first season as a member of the Cal State Los Angeles baseball team, but the former Hancock catcher recently scored a major honor from his days as a Bulldog. Welker was one of six athletes recently named to the 2014 Scholar-Athlete Men's Honor Roll by the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA). Nine female athletes were also honored statewide by the CCAAA awards committee. Welker is in the top 0.0006 percent since there are nearly 26,000 student-athletes at California community colleges.

Welker was an All-Conference Gold Glove Award winner and Academic All-American for the Bulldogs in 2014. He led the team with a .357 batting average, 51 runs and 11 stolen bases. The Santa Ynez High School graduate graduated from Hancock last May with a 3.68 cumulative GPA. He is a kinesiology major at Cal State Los Angeles.

"We are extremely proud of Ryan," said Hancock Athletic Director Kim Ensing. "Not only does the recognition reflect well on Ryan, but it is also the result of tremendous support from our baseball head coach Chris Stevens and our dedicated academic counselors."

Welker is the fourth Hancock athlete to receive the recognition since the CCCAA Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll was created in 1995. The others are Camille Zumbro (women's basketball, 2012), Chris Mallory (baseball, 2010) and Karina Gutierrez (women's volleyball, 1996).

He will receive the award at the 2015 CCCAA Celebration of Student-Athlete's Luncheon on April 1, in Ontario.

Community colleges throughout California nominated student-athletes who carried a minimum grade point average of 3.5, showed outstanding leadership, as well as participated in two seasons of a sport at a California community college.