GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. –The Colorado Mesa University Men's Soccer Team earned six selections onto the College Sports Communicators NCAA Division II Academic All-District® Men's Soccer Team, which was released by the organization last week.
Those six players include George Jones, Nathan Beck, Connor Chilson, Jonah Elstad, Daniel Paulsson and Manuel Ponce Casas.
In addition, Ponce Casas was also the lone Maverick to be selected to advance to the national ballot for Academic All-America® ballot, which will be announced on Dec. 17 following a vote of CSC (formerly known as CoSIDA/College Sports Information Directors of America) membership.
In order to be eligible for the Academic All-District® honors, student-athletes must be a sophomore or above both athletically and academically and have a 3.50 or higher GPA. They also must have played in 90 percent or started 2/3 of their team's games. Institutions are limited six nominations per gender.
Chilson repeats in earning this honor this year after being selected to the team in 2024 with him being the only Maverick to earn this award multiple times. He is joined by Jones who also is a back-to-back recipient after earning a selection at his previous school.
The group of Beck, Elstad, Paulsson and Ponce Casas are all first-time recipients.
All six players selected for Colorado Mesa appeared in 14 games or more this season while each being key members in the team's return to the postseason after missing out in 2024.
Their six selections this year double last year's total with only three players making that list.
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2024-25 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA governance structure. For more information about CSC Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com.
