Utah State Lands 23 Student-Athletes on Academic All-Big West Team

Utah State University landed 23 student-athletes on the Big West Conference Fall all-academic teams it was announced on Tuesday. That total was second only to UC Santa Barbara, which had 26 athletes named to the teams.

To be eligible for the team, student-athletes have to maintain a 3.2 cumulative grade point average, have attained a sophomore standing academically and competed in at least 50 percent of their team's contests.

Four USU student-athletes were named both academic and athletic first-team by the conference this fall. That includes Erin Cartwright of volleyball, Brigid Turner of soccer and Mike Nielson and Steve Prescott from men's cross country.

Four Aggie student-athletes were named to the team for the third time in their careers, including volleyball player Shauni Fluckiger and soccer players Michelle Eversman, Lyndy Goodsell and Turner.

Aggies making the list for the second time included volleyball players Emily Kennedy and Haily Seedall, soccer player Jessica Ebner, men's cross country runners David Kunnas, Nielson and Prescott, and women's cross country runner Melanie Marek.

UC Santa Barbara had seven of its league-high selections come in the sport of men's soccer, which Utah State does not sponsor. UC Riverside and Idaho both had 19 selections for third place, while Cal Poly was fifth with 17 picks.

Utah State Big West Academic Selections