IRVING, Texas – Conference USA student-athletes continue to excel in both athletics and academics as 11 were named to the 2018 InTouch Credit Union Conference USA Men’s Soccer All-Academic Team. All nine teams were represented this year, with Kentucky and Old Dominion leading the way with two selections apiece.

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Kentucky’s Sam Stockton and Old Dominion’s Niko Klosterhalfen are repeat honorees from 2017. Stockton holds a 3.85 grade-point average (GPA) in accounting. The junior has played an important position at midfield for the Wildcats screening the nation’s No. 4 goals against average defense. Klosterhalfen has maintained a 3.88 GPA in psychology. The senior has seven goals and eight assists on the season to rank second for the Monarchs with 22 points.
 
Also representing Kentucky and Old Dominion are Leon Jones and Ryan McLaughlin, respectively. The Wildcats’ Jones has maintained a 3.82 GPA in chemical engineering acting as a defensive stalwart for the Kentucky defense that has 12 shutouts this season. The Monarchs’ McLaughlin holds a 3.7 GPA in mechanical engineering. The senior is a key component in the backfield for Old Dominion, who has totaled five shutouts in 2018.
 
There are three more repeat honorees from last season – Charlotte’s Callum Montgomery, New Mexico’s Simon Spangenberg and UAB’s Eder Mora.
 
Montgomery posted a 3.97 GPA while majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry. The two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America selection is a finalist for the Senior CLASS award this season. He has started all 16 games for the 49ers and led a defense that’s allowed just seven goals in 2018.
 
Spangenberg holds an impressive 4.2 GPA as a computer engineering major. The senior has started in all the games he’s played in for the Lobos and has two goals. He is slated to graduate summa cum laude, the university’s highest honor.
 
Mora has maintained a 3.94 GPA while earning his Masters of Business Administration. The graduate student has one goal and two assists this season. He graduated in the summer of 2018 with a degree in finance before moving on to obtain his master’s degree.
 
There are several new faces on the all-academic team this year, as well.
 
Hagay Jalon holds a 3.867 GPA while majoring in psychology. The senior has had the highest GPA for the Florida Atlantic since he transferred there in the fall of 2017. He leads the conference in saves with 76, averaging 5.07 per game.

Santiago Patino penned a 3.21 GPA as a recreation and sport management major at FIU. The senior is second in the conference this campaign with 12 goals. He is tenth in the country in goals per game (.80) and has an impressive 26 points on the season.
 
Marshall’s Carlos Diaz-Salcedo has maintained a 3.73 GPA in international business and finance. The junior is a two-time member of the Commissioner’s Honor Roll. He has stepped in as a trusted defender for the Herd, pacing them to the No. 5 seed in this year’s conference championship.
 
South Carolina’s Luca Mayr posted a 3.560 GPA as a finance major. Mayr leads the Gamecocks with 11 points this season off four goals and three assists. He is a two-time selection on the Commissioner’s Honor Roll and the SEC Academic Honor Roll and has led his team to the highest team GPA for the past two seasons at South Carolina.
 
2018 InTouch Credit Union Conference USA Men’s Soccer All-Academic Team
*Callum Montgomery, Charlotte, Sr., D, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 3.997 GPA in biology
Hagay Jalon, Florida Atlantic, Sr., GK, Northridge, California, 3.867 GPA in psychology
Santiago Patino, FIU, Sr., F, Orlando, Florida, 3.21 GPA in recreation and sport management
Leon Jones, Kentucky, So., D, Glasgow, Scotland, 3.82 GPA in chemical engineering
*Sam Stockton, Kentucky, Jr., MF, Louisville, Kentucky, 3.85 GPA in accounting
Carlos Diaz-Salcedo, Marshall, Jr., D, Barcelona, Spain, 3.73 GPA in international business/finance
*Simon Spangenberg, New Mexico, Sr., MF, Brussels, Belgium, 4.20 GPA in computer engineering
*Niko Klosterhalfen, Old Dominion, Sr., MF, Koenigswinter, Germany, 3.88 GPA in psychology
Ryan McLaughlin, Old Dominion, Sr., D, Ireland, 3.7 GPA in mechanical engineering
Luca Mayr, South Carolina, Jr., F, Steyr, Austria, 3.560 GPA in finance
*Eder Mora, UAB, R-Sr., MF, Dalton, Georgia, 3.94 GPA in Masters of Business Administration

*Repeat Selections