WMU men's soccer leads Academic All-MAC

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Western Michigan University's men's soccer team leads the Mid-American Conference with 10 players named as academic honorees.

The WMU student-athletes join a total of 42 players on the 2016 men's soccer Academic All-MAC team.

The Academic All-MAC honor is for those who have excelled on the field and in the classroom. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport.

Members of that group, including the 10 WMU players, will be considered for the conference's Distinguished Scholar Award, which will be voted on by the Faculty Athletic Representatives and was new to the MAC in 2014.

"The men continue to hold the bar high in the classroom for this program," said WMU head coach Chad Wiseman. "I am extremely proud of the hard work, education and commitment they put into their studies semester after semester. We have some very impressive student-athletes within our program who are also great role models for the community."

Zachary Bock and Brandon Bye also were named All-Region Scholars. A total of 11 members were named to the NSCAA Division I Men's Scholar All-North/Central Region Team. Only WMU and Michigan State, also with two, had multiple honorees.

2016 men's soccer Academic All-MAC

WMU student-athletes

• Zachary Bock of Novi is a junior studying pre-business and has a 4.0 GPA.

• Brandon Bye of Portage is a junior majoring in consumer packaging marketing and has a 3.73 GPA.
• Jake DeJulio of Overland Park, Kansas, is a freshman studying pre-business with a 4.0 GPA.
• Nathan Hoover of Muskegon is a sophomore majoring in pre-business and has a 3.69 GPA.
• Eduardo Jimenez of Seville, Spain, is a senior studying finance with a 3.95 GPA.
• Connor McNulty of Orland Park, Illinois, is a sophomore studying pre-physical education: teacher/coach and has a 3.33 GPA.
• Alex Ruddock of Caledonia is a freshman studying pre-nursing with a 3.59 GPA.
• Drew Shepherd of Ann Arbor is a junior with a 3.5 GPA studying aviation flight science.
• Cameron Sipple of Traverse City is a sophomore with a 4.0 GPA majoring in exercise science.
• Hunter Vandenboom of Grand Rapids is a senior with a 3.54 GPA studying biomedical sciences.

On-field honors

Five Broncos also were voted All-MAC. Bock and Bye earned First Team honors while Jimenez, Diego Lopez and Shepherd were named Second Team.

Bock, Bye and Shepherd also were named to the NSCAA NCAA Division I Men's All-Great Lakes Region team. Bock and Bye earned Second Team honors and Shepherd was named Third Team.

WMU finished the 2016 season with a 9-6-4 overall record

 For more information on WMU men's soccer, visit wmubroncos.com.

For more WMU news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.