ST. LOUIS - This year's Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete First Team and Honorable Mentions include 18 student-athletes. Scholar-Athlete of the Year goes to Illinois State's Ashley Santos as the Math Teacher Education major holds onto the award after winning it last spring.

Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete Team (PDF)

The criteria for the award parallels the CoSIDA standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA (on a 4.00 scale). Also, students must have participated in at least 75 percent of the regular-season matches or the MVC Championship. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen and redshirt freshmen not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution. Sports Information Directors at MVC institutions voted for the team.

Santos' academic excellence has propelled her to a 4.00 GPA and three first-team honors, along with her two Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards. Her classroom success transitioned over to the pitch with two All-MVC First Team honors. Additionally, the Falls Church native earned inclusion on the Honorable Mention team in 2018 and 2019, plus the All-Freshman squad back in 2017.



All nine participating conference schools have members on the teams, with Loyola's five selections leading the pack. Valparaiso is next with three members, while Drake, Indiana State and Indiana State have two selections. Eight members of the teams earned spots last year, with five repeating as First-Team honorees.