Fresno City College sophomore basketball player Alex Perez has earned almost every accolade possible at the junior college level. Last season he played an integral part in helping his team win the state championship while being named the MVP of the final four junior college championships and CVC freshman of the year and propelling his team to be the number two junior college team in the nation.

Perez, who was born and raised in San Diego, enrolled at Fresno City College in hopes of earning his degree and having the opportunity to play in Coach Ed Madec’s team while battling for a state championship.

Although Perez has conquered some of his goals, it’s his goals off the court that fuel his determination.

Perez has already committed to the University of Southern Mississippi where he wants to continue to play basketball and further his education in hopes of becoming a player development coach and personal trainer.

Perez says that it is his family who inspires him the most to succeed.

“I want to be able to provide for my family when I’m older,” said Perez.

Perez has a tattoo of the words “Carpe Diem,” which means “seize the day” in Latin.

With so much responsibility and potential, the sky’s the limit for Perez as he enters his final season as a player at FCC.

“Basketball is very time consuming and it’s very easy to fall behind in the classroom,” said Perez. “But I have to remain disciplined and go to class and go to the zone to stay on top of it.”

Perez’s main goal this season will be to repeat as state champions with FCC but looks to his future. “I wanna play pro first but when I’m all done I still want to be involved with basketball.”