KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan senior captains Brandon Bye, Drew Shepherd and Zach Bock were named All-Region Scholars by the United Soccer Coaches and now will move onto the ballot for Academic All-American.

The honors are the latest of several accolades that have rolled in for the WMU men's soccer team this season. Bock and Bye have already been named Academic All-Americans by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), while Shepherd collected CoSIDA Academic All-District honors. All three were also Academic All-Mid-American Conference selections.

In addition to the scholastic honors, all three have been recognized for their athletic performances in 2017.

Bye has been named a First Team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches, as well as College Soccer News. He was a Hermann Trophy semifinalist and was named MAC Player of the Year and First Team All-MAC after leading the conference with 12 goals and seven assists, totaling 31 points, which ranked among leaders nationally.

Shepherd was as Second Team All-American pick by the United Soccer Coaches and collected First Team All-MAC honors, becoming the first ever Bronco goalkeeper to do so. Shepherd had a 16-3-1 record in goal for the Broncos and was responsible for 13 of the team's 14 shutouts. The 13 shutouts ranked third most in Division I this season. He set a new WMU record for goalkeeper wins, single-season shutouts and career shutouts. His career 0.75 goals-against average will also go down as best in school history.

Bock was an All-Region selection by the United Soccer Coaches and has been a four-year starter for Western Michigan. As a center back, Bock anchored the Bronco defense that totaled 14 shutouts this season. He also scored one goal, the game-winner in a 3-2 victory over LIU-Brooklyn, and had one assist.

Bock maintains a 3.98 cumulative grade-point average, studying sales & business marketing. Bye is double majoring in food & consumer packaging goods and marketing & supply chain management and carries a 3.74 GPA. Shepherd has a 3.32 GPA in aviation flight science.

The three co-captains led Western Michigan to unprecedented success in 2017 and a No. 9 final national ranking. The Broncos won their first ever MAC regular season championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, where the team was given a first round bye. WMU went on to defeat UAlbany in the second round for the school's first ever NCAA Tournament win and advanced to the Sweet 16 before eventually falling to Michigan State.

The Broncos finished the season with a 17-4-1 overall record and went undefeated during the MAC season with a perfect 5-0-0 record. WMU was ranked in the United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll for 11 consecutive weeks, reaching as high as No. 4, and spent seven weeks ranked inside the top 10. WMU set program records for most wins and shutouts in a season.