Soccer team at top of conference in grades
Thirty-five Utah State student athletes were named to all-academic teams in the WAC for the fall sports.
The soccer team had the most all-academic players with 13 players named to the all-WAC team. The football had eight players honored and women’s cross country had seven runners honored. The volleyball team had five players named to the team and men’s cross country had two runners honored, including All-American Trever Ball.
The 35 honorees ranks third in the WAC after the fall sports season.
The winter and spring all-academic teams will be announced after the conclusion of their respective seasons.
“Placing that many is a testament to the student athletes,” Associate Athletic Director Brian Evans said. “I fully expect us to dominate the WAC [academic teams] like we did the Big West.”
The football team had eight honorees on the football all-academic team, which is a sign of not only coach Brent Guy’s emphasis in academics but also Athletic Director Randy Spetman’s expectations.
“Athletics and academics are equal in priority,” Evans said of Spetman’s priorities for student athletes.
Spetman’s hiring of Guy is a good example of the emphasis put on academics, Evans said.
“Guy is unparalleled in the football realm,” Evans said. “He is adamant about his athletes doing well and excelling in the classroom.”
Success on the field and off was part of the majority of the fall sports programs.
Volleyball had five players on the all-academic team and finished second in both the regular season and in the conference tournament while advancing to the NCAA tournament.
The men’s and women’s cross country teams took first and second in the conference respectively as well as their nine total academic honorees.
For the third straight year the Utah State women’s soccer team earned the team academic award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
The team had a GPA of 3.42 which tied them for 42nd in the nation as a program. All teams who had a GPA of 3.0 or higher earned the team award.
To go along with the team’s success senior defender Liz Masson was named a NSCAA Regional Scholar Athlete.
Masson was on the coaches association’s third team and was named first team all-WAC for her play on the field.
“We put a big emphasis on academic achievement in our program,” head coach Heather Cairns said. “So for the girls to be recognized for this a great testament to how hard they work and how well they are able to balance the time demands of being a student-athlete.”
Besides continuing their academic success the Aggies advanced to the post season for the first time in the program’s ten seasons of existence.
Utah State tied for second in its first year in the WAC but lost in the first round of the conference tournament to Fresno State 2-1.
-krn@cc.usu.edu