Athletes, coach inducted into McHenry County College’s Athletic Hall of Fame

An “outstanding volleyball player,” a former softball coach and an “exceptional baseball player” were inducted into McHenry County College’s Hall of Fame in January.

“We are proud to honor this year’s inductees, to share their accomplishments and contributions to MCC, and to thank them for being part of our Scot family,” MCC athletic director Karen Wiley said in a statement ahead of the Jan. 25 ceremony. “We have amazing individuals to shine the spotlight upon.”

The honorees included Maddy Cysewski, Leon Palatas and Nikola Vasic.

Cysewski was a standout volleyball player from 2014 to 2016 and holds the program record for kills with 958 over the course of her career. She also sits at second place all-time in aces with 95, is fourth in kills per set and fifth in aces per set. She was the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference Player of the Year in 2015 and graduated as a Skyway Conference All-Academic honoree.

Leon Palatas was a softball coach from 1999 to 2009. His teams won Skyway Conference regular season championships in 2001, 2003 and 2004, and Palatas was named Skyway Conference Softball Coach of the Year in each of those seasons. He was named Skyway overall Women’s Coach of the Year in 2003, the year his team set a school record with 24 straight wins, finished 35-10 overall and competed in the Region IV Championship game.

Nikola Vasic played baseball for the Scots from 2016 to 2018, winning Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference All-Conference All-Region IV honors in his freshman season, in which the team went 50-12 and won its conference and the Region IV Championship. The Scots went 41-12 in his sophomore season, winning the conference and repeating as Region IV champs. He earned All-Conference Player of the Year honors, the Region IV Player of the Year award and was a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American.