Spangenberg named Google Cloud Academic All-America® of the Year for DI men’s soccer
AUSTIN, Texas – Simon Spangenberg of The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team was lauded with the highest academic achievement a college athlete can attain as he was named as the Google Cloud Academic All-America® of the Year for Division I men’s soccer. The announcement was made by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday.
In earning the prestigious academic honor, Spangenberg becomes the fourth Lobo all-time and the second men’s soccer player to be named as the Academic All-America® of the Year in a respective sport. In that, Spangenberg joins the likes of Cherise Beynon of women’s basketball in 2017-18, Luke Caldwell of track and field in 2013-14 and Simon Ejdemr of men’s soccer in 2009-10.
“Simon is a class act and represents everything that Lobo men’s soccer stands for: excellence in the classroom, excellence in the community and excellence on the playing field,” said head coach Jeremy Fishbein. “Simon and Lobo soccer are about reaching one’s potential and never settling for mediocracy. As role models in our community, student-athletes like Simon Spangenberg set the bar for the youth of New Mexico. Our sports programs must demand excellence from our student athletes. Simon has taken it to a level few before him ever have.”
A second team Academic All-America® selection last year, Spangenberg is currently a double major in computer science and applied mathematics. Additionally, Spangenberg is minoring in psychology. Despite the heavy academic workload, Spangenberg more than excels in the classroom as his GPA stands at an eye-popping 4.2.
A native of Brussels, Belgium, Spangenberg is the 12th player in UNM men’s soccer history to be an Academic All-America® honoree and the eighth to do so multiple times. He is also the 10th player to be named to the first team and the second to achieve the highest individual honor of Academic All-America® of the Year, joining Simon Ejdemyr in 2009.
The sport of men’s soccer began awarding for Academic All-America® in 2001 and since then, the UNM men’s soccer team lays claim to the most selections in collegiate soccer regardless of division at 23 with Spangenberg’s latest honor.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment and testament to the quality of our men’s soccer student-athletes and the impact they make on a national level as well as the pride they bring to New Mexico,” added Fishbein.
Earlier this year, Spangenberg was a Top-30 candidate for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award for Men’s Soccer for his notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character, and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Additionally, Spangenberg has received multiple Conference-USA academic honors including several C-USA Academic Medals, and C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll accolades.
For his career, Spangenberg played in 62 games, made 29 starts and logged 2,508 minutes. He ended with four career goals and two assists. Two of the goals for Spangenberg came in his senior season.