Akane Gonzalez & Josh Smith Named Jersey Mike’s Student-Athletes of the Week

Split-screen graphic featuring College of the Canyons softball student-athlete Akane Gonzalez and men’s track & field student-athlete Josh Smith against a white background with athletic logos. In the center of the graphic is the Jersey Mike’s and COC Athletics logos set on a blue background, with a Cougar head logo in the background and a text overlay reading student-athletes of the week.
May 8, 2026

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director 

College of the Canyons student-athletes Akane Gonzalez (softball) and Josh Smith (men's track & field) have been named the Jersey Mike's COC Athletic Department's Women's & Men's Student-Athletes of the Week for the period running April 27 to May 2. Gonzalez and Smith are the 15th set of honorees for the 2026 winter/spring period.

Akane Gonzalez / Softball

Gonzalez pitched all but one inning in the Cougars' opening-round three-game playoff series victory over No. 2 Cerritos College.

The right-handed hurler out of El Camino Real Charter earned a pair of wins, with her clutch relief appearance in game two helping No. 16 Canyons mount a comeback bid that saved the Cougars' postseason hopes.

Gonzalez suffered the loss in a 6-4 defeat in game one, however, that opening-game result was ancient history by the time Gonzalez entered the circle the following day for game two.

With the Cougars trailing 7-2 following the first frame, Gonzalez went on to silence the Falcons for the next six innings. Meanwhile, COC scored runs in four of the next five innings to eventually take a 9-7 lead. Gonzalez allowed four hits and issued one walk with three strikeouts while facing 25 batters. The victory represented the first career postseason win for the sophomore.

In game three, later that same day, Gonzalez (15-8) picked up her second win of the series in another 9-7 victory for the Cougars. In the decisive seventh inning, she retired the Falcons in order to propel Canyons into the next round.

No. 16 Canyons will next face No. 10 Saddleback College in the 3C2A SoCal Super Regional beginning at 5 p.m. Friday, May 8. 

Josh Smith / Men's Track & Field

Smith will have a chance to compete for a state title in the 400m after a successful run at the 3C2A Southern California Regional Prelims hosted by Bakersfield College on May 2.

The sophomore out of Calabasas High School was clocked at a time of 48.98 to finish sixth in the 400m event. That result, which ranked second among Western State Conference (WSC) competitors, qualified Smith in advancing to this weekend's SoCal Regional Championship meet.

Later, Smith teamed with Thurlee Bowers, Antonio Moore and Elijah Reid, running the second leg of the 4x100 relay to place seventh at a time of 41.96 in the field of 22 competing teams. That time was roughly half a second behind the event winner (41.45) from San Diego Mesa College.

Smith next runs, both as an individual and part of a relay team, at the 3C2A Southern California Regional Championships taking place Saturday, May 9, at Bakersfield College.

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.