Two former Palomar College athletes have been selected as the 2024-25 Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC) scholar-athletes of the year, recognizing their outstanding performances on the field and in the classroom.
With this PCAC recognition Softball player Breanna Lutz and baseball player Ian Mowad are now nominees for the California Community College Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, to be selected at the association’s convention being held November 5 through 7.
Breanna Lutz
The PCAC award is the latest in a long line of accolades for Lutz, who has been described as one of the greatest softball players in the history of California community college sports.
Lutz was also named State Athlete of the Year by the California College Sports Information Association, just the second time that a softball player has been selected.
In her two seasons at Palomar College, Lutz was also named National Fastpitch Coaches Association Player of the Year, Southern California Player of the Year, MVP of the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference, and was state batting champion with a .560 batting average.
She struck out only twice in 184 plate appearances, and led the state in runs, hits and on-base percentage. The Palomar College Comets softball team, playing their first season on their new field, had a 44-5 record and made the state championship final, where they lost to San Mateo College.
Lutz said her teammates are the reason for her success. “I wouldn’t be able to do it without my teammates. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to achieve the recognition I did.”
Lutz graduated from Palomar College with a 3.735 grade point average and earned an associate degree in criminal justice, along with two associate degrees in University Studies: Social Sciences, and General Studies: Social and Behavioral Sciences.
She transferred to Portland State University and plans to pursue a career in law enforcement, but she said she would seize an opportunity to have a career playing ball. “That’s the dream – to play professional softball,” she said.
Ian Mowad
Mowad, a pitcher, also received numerous awards during his time on the Palomar College Comets baseball team. He was named a 2025 preseason All-American; an Academic All-State honoree, and a 2024 1st Team All-PCAC.
On the mound, he secured 16 wins, 131 strikeouts, and a 4.83 earned run average over 152.2 career innings, including 104 strikeouts in 82.2 innings during the 2024-2025 season.
Mowad, who grew up in the Temecula area, said he had been playing baseball since he was three years old. When he wasn’t recruited by four-year universities after high school, he decided to attend and play baseball at Palomar College.
He praised his coaches and his fellow players on the baseball team as part of his overall positive experience at Palomar College.
“It was great from the moment I stepped foot on campus to the moment I left,” he said. “We had a close-knit group of guys, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Mowad, who had a 4.0 grade point average, earned an associate degree in Law, Public Policy and Society, as well as degrees in University Studies: Social Sciences and General Studies: Social and Behavioral Sciences.
He received a scholarship to play baseball at St. John’s University in Queens, New York, where he is majoring in criminal justice. He hopes to play baseball professionally, but he plans to go to law school toward a goal of becoming an attorney.