Complete Academic All-MW Teams
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — For the fourth consecutive academic year, The University of New Mexico earned the most Academic All-Mountain West selections, this time with a program record 199. The total was bolstered by a school record 139 Spring honorees, the fifth straight year UNM has led with the most Spring honorees.
The 199 is the most by any institution in the Mountain West since the 2010-11 season, when BYU had 235 honorees. The Spring sports combine the total honorees for baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s golf, women’s golf, softball, swimming and diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track and field, and women’s track and field.
UNM led the league or were tied for the league lead in five sports (men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s golf, women’s golf and softball) and were second in two others (baseball and men’s tennis).
Baseball picked up 15 honorees, the second-most in the league behind Fresno State, which had 16. It also was the second-most in program history, behind the 2013 season when 16 Lobos made Academic All-Mountain West.
Both basketball programs once again were leaders in the classroom. The men’s team led the league with five selections, marking a fantastic streak for head coach Craig Neal, as the Lobos have led the league in Academic All-Mountain West selections in all three of his seasons as a head coach. On the women’s side, the program’s 13 honorees were a Mountain West record for the sport of women’s basketball.
Both golf teams tied for top honors in the league. The men’s team had six honorees, the second straight year Glen Millican’s club has tied for the league lead, and the women’s team also had six honorees. Under Jill Trujillo, the women’s golf team has now tied for, or led the league on Academic All-MW selections in six of the last seven years.
The other league leader was the softball team, which has now led the league for four straight years under Erica Beach, and tied a Mountain West record with 14 honorees.
UNM’s swimming and diving program picked up 19 honorees, giving them 19 or more in each of the last six years. Men’s tennis was second in the league with seven selections, the seventh consecutive year finishing first or second in the sport. Women’s tennis had five student-athletes selected, which kept their streak alive as they have had at least five selected in all 14 years that the Academic All-Mountain West teams have been picks.
Both track and field programs finished third in the conference, with the men’s team earning 22 picks and the women 27. Both of those numbers tied respective program records.