Irvine Valley's scholar athletes of the year for the 2022-23 school year are star women's basketball player Kennedy Pucci and standout standout men's soccer player Julian Svoboda.
Both were 4.0 GPA students and scholar athletes in their time at IVC.
Svoboda and Pucci also stood out on the field and court.
The IVC men's soccer team finished with a record of 11-7-5 overall, ended up fifth in the OEC and were competitive against every team the side played against this season under first-year head coach Conor Ward.
Irvine Valley made the CCCAA So. Cal. Regional Playoffs and defeated Antelope Valley, 3-1, at home in a first-round match-up before falling to a tough El Camino squad, 3-0, on the road in the second round in mid November.
Svoboda was a leader and a heart and soul of the Lasers this year, according to Ward.
He served many roles in the midfield, pushing forward and holding back. Svoboda did whatever it took to help IVC.
He played in 23 games and made 22 starts, finishing wiith two goals and 14 assists on the year.
Svoboda, from Germany, finished first in the conference in assists (he doubled the next player in the OEC) and had the fifth-most points in the conference with 18.
He had three assists in a 6-1 IVC win over Imperial Valley on Sept. 20 and recorded two assists against both Southwestern and Cypress.
Svoboda played in 12 matches for the Lasers during the 2021 campaign and recorded two goals and one assist.
He has signed with NCAA Division II Concordia University.
Pucci also signed with a four-year school. She is headed to NAIA Hope International.
She was a starter and star for the Lasers this past year. She played in all 30 of IVC's games and started 28 contests.
Pucci was named first team all-Orange Empire Conference and the defensive player of the year in the OEC for an IVC team that finished with a record of 21-9 overall and 8-4 in conference.
The Lasers reached a California Community College Athletic Association So. Cal. Regional Final.
Pucci averaged 9.9 points, 4.2 rebounds 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game on the year.
Pucci scored in double figures in 14 games for IVC and finished the year with 45 points in three games.
She was also key player on the 2021-22 IVC team that finished with 26 wins (26-3), captured its fourth OEC title in a row and made the semifinals of the CCCAA State Tournament.
Irvine Valley was ranked as high as No. 1 in So. Cal. in the final coaches' poll of the regular season. And the Lasers received the No. 2 seed in the So. Cal. Regional Playoffs.
Pucci started three contests in the 2021-22 season and averaged 2.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
The full 2022-23 IVC Annual Awards Program can be seen here
