Summer is an interesting time of the year for collegiate athletes. There are no games and with limited training and practice requirements, many student athletes head home for the break.

However, it is also the time of year that acknowledges the work these athletes do in the classroom. Cal State East Bay received a slew of academic honors during the summer break and here are some of the highlights:

Men’s Basketball

On July 26 the National Association of Basketball Coaches announced its Honor Court, which recognizes student-athletes who have succeeded in the classroom as well as the athletic arena.

A trio of Pioneer junior guards, Tre Mauldin, Jalen Richard and Paramvir Singh, all made the cut and were awarded the academic honor. According to Rick Leddy, spokesperson for the NABC, in order to be eligible for the recognition, players must be a junior or senior and a varsity player, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2015-2016 academic year, have matriculated at least one year at their current institution and must be a member of a NCAA Division I, II, III or NAIA Division I or II institution with a NABC member coach.

It was a bright spot for a tough season that saw the Pioneers finish 9-18 overall and 5-15 in conference competition. Last season Richard averaged team-highs in points per game with 15.6 and steals with 41 overall. Singh was primarily used as a reserve off the bench last season for head coach Gus Argenal, however, he did appear in all 27 games for the Pioneers, averaging 3.2 points and 2 rebounds. Mauldin started 13 games last year and played in 22 total en route to 3.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

“We meet weekly with our players, have mentor groups inside our team, have study hall differentiated by academic success, but most importantly we communicate daily about academics and being organized,” Argenal said.

Women’s Volleyball

The CSUEB women’s volleyball team was one of 771 teams in the country recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association on July 25 when they received the Team Academic Award.

According to Betsey McCamish, awards, events and membership specialist for AVCA, the award is given to high school and collegiate volleyball teams that maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.3. In the 24-year history of the association 7,649 totals awards have been given to teams throughout the United States. This year, 122 NCAA Division II squads were given the award and 771 teams total up from last year’s number of 757. The total number of teams has increased every year since 2004-2005, when just 276 teams received the honor.

Men’s Golf

On July 20 the Golf Coaches Association of America named CSUEB junior Joel Keylor an All-America Scholar for 2016.

Keylor was one of 91 NCAA Division II athletes to receive the award and 219 total. According to the GCAA, in order to be eligible for the honor, recipients must be a junior or senior, competed in at least three full years at the collegiate level, participated in at least half of his team’s competitive rounds, have a stroke-average under 78 and maintain a minimum cumulative career grade-point average of 3.2.

Keylor met all of the requirements coming off the heels of the first ever California Collegiate Athletic Association Conference championship for East Bay, where he was a crucial component. Keylor won his semifinal and final match play events last season to help catapult CSUEB to their first title.

According to Steve Connolly, director of athletic communications at CSUEB, Keylor is the first golfer to win the award since 2013 when current assistant coach and former Pioneer standout Chris Herzog received it in consecutive years.