Add another pair of accomplishments to Hannah Hocom’s impressive 2017-18 season.
The Aptos High star junior basketball player was named an Academic All-American by the National High School Coaches Association late last month, and also earned a spot on Cal-Hi Sports’ All-State Underclassmen Third Team.
A starting guard for the Mariners each of the last three seasons, Hocom was named the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League’s Most Valuable Player after leading Aptos to its first league title since the 2000-01 season. This newspaper also selected the 5-foot-9 sharpshooter as our Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Now, she’s considered one of the best in the state on the court, and one of the most well-rounded student-athletes in the nation.
Hocom said the academic honor rises above the rest.
“It’s on such a big scale and academics are such an important part of the equation for me,” Hocom said.
Along with averaging 14.1 points per game and swishing the second-most 3-pointers in the Central Coast Section (84), Hocom also carried a 4.3 grade point average while helping the Mariners to a 26-5 overall record and the quarterfinal round of the CIF NorCal Division III playoffs.
Her father Stefan Hocom, who was the Mariners’ head coach for the last four seasons, agreed with his daughter: the academic accomplishment was the most impressive of them all.
“I always tell her, ‘you got to have the academics,’” Hocom said.
Hocom was one of only two student-athletes from California who earned Academic All-American honors from the NHSCA, which selected 114 student-athletes from 34 states across the country. The honorees averaged a 3.9 GPA.
“This year’s Academic All-Americans are the epitome of what a student-athlete is. Not only do they excel on the playing field, mat, court, pool, and track, but they also excel in the classroom” NHSCA CEO Bobby Ferraro said on the organization’s website. “These student-athletes are leaders in and out of the classroom and are the future leaders of tomorrow. We are proud to deem them Academic All-Americans.”
