Sports
The SLCC Bruins have competed in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) since 1985. Currently, the school fields men's teams in baseball, basketball, and soccer, and women's teams in basketball, softball, volleyball, and soccer. The Bruins have produced 54 NJCAA All-American athletes since 1985, and has produced 513 Academic All-Region honorees and 192 Academic All-Americans.[10]
The men's basketball program advanced to the NJCAA championship game in 2008, but lost. The following season, the Bruins returned to the title game, this time defeating Midland College to claim the first national championship in school history.[11] The Bruins returned to the title game in 2016, winning their second championship by defeating Hutchinson Community College, 74–64.
The men's soccer team captured the NJCAA national championship in 2021, just five years after the program transitioned from club status to formal NJCAA competition, by upsetting number-one Iowa Western in the title match.[12] Two players from that squad, Ryen Jiba and Levonte Johnson, were later selected in the first round of the 2023 MLS SuperDraft.
The Bruins' men's baseball team captured the NJCAA championship in 2025, upsetting a heavily favored squad from Walters State College 9-6 in the final game of the JUCO World Series. SLCC entered the tournament as a number-eight seed, whereas Walters State was the top seed and led the entire nation in scoring, averaging 11.7 runs per contest. SLCC was able to contain Walters State to claim the crown, becoming the lowest-seeded program ever to win the junior college national title.[13]
Prominent professional athletes who trained and competed at SLCC include Eddy Alvarez (baseball), Justin Braun (soccer), Eddie Gill (basketball), Gary Payton II (basketball), and Chris Shelton (baseball).