CLEVELAND – The Western Michigan football team has placed a league-high and program record 20 players on the 2018 Academic All-Mid-American Conference team, the league announced on Monday.
Those honored from Western Michigan include:
Tyron Arnett,
Jamauri Bogan,
Brett Borske,
Mike Caliendo,
Stefan Claiborne,
Dylan Deatherage,
Wesley French,
Jaylen Hall,
Ralph Holley,
Luke Juriga,
Spencer Kanz,
John Keenoy,
Odell Miller,
Tanner Motz,
Zach Novoselsky,
Giovanni Ricci,
Luke Sanders,
Harrison Taylor,
Justin Tranquill and
Jon Wassink.
Novoselsky was one of four student-athletes in the conference to earn Academic All-MAC honors for the fourth straight year. Juriga, Keenoy, Miller and Ricci earned the academic honor for the third straight year while Caliedno, Caliborne, Kanz and Wassink are second-time selections.
A total of 154 student-athletes were named to the Academic All-MAC team with WMU leading the way with 20 selections. Over the past three seasons, Western Michigan has produced 53 Academic All-MAC selections.
All 20 Broncos will now be eligible to be voted as Distinguished Scholar-Athletes by the league's Faculty Athletic Representatives (FARs), an award which began in 2015. Distinguished Scholar-Athletes will be announced later this year.
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport and are not of freshman or first-year transfer status. All student-athletes that meet this criteria earn Academic All-MAC honors, a change from in years past when only a select few were named Academic All-MAC but all eligible student-athletes were named honorable mentions. Voting for the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete team will follow the old criteria used to select Academic All-MAC.
Western Michigan (20):
Tyron Arnett, Western Michigan, Sophomore, 3.28 GPA, Biomedical Studies (Belle Glade, Fla.)
Jamauri Bogan, Western Michigan, Graduate, 3.25 GPA, MBA (Union, N.J.)
Brett Borske, Western Michigan, Sophomore, 3.54 GPA, Finance (Naperville, Ill.)
*
Mike Caliendo, Western Michigan, Sophomore, 3.83 GPA, Biomedical Sciences (Brookfield, Wis.)
*
Stefan Claiborne, Western Michigan, Junior, 3.48 GPA, Business (Clinton Township, Mich.)
Dylan Deatherage, Western Michigan, Redshirt Freshman, 3.64 GPA, Nursing (Kankakee, Ill.)
Wesley French, Western Michigan, Junior, 3.43 GPA, Interdisciplinary Health Services (Benton Harbor, Mich.)
Jaylen Hall, Western Michigan, Sophomore, 3.40 GPA, Sports Management (Macomb, Mich.)
Ralph Holley, Western Michigan, Sophomore, 3.28 GPA, University Curriculum (West Bloomfield, Mich.)
*+
Luke Juriga, Western Michigan, Junior, 3.61 GPA, Manufacturing Engineering Technology (Aurora, Ill.)
*
Spencer Kanz, Western Michigan, Sophomore, 3.72 GPA, Finance (Luxemburg, Wis.)
*+
John Keenoy, Western Michigan, Graduate, 3.72 GPA, MBA (Kentwood, Mich.)
*+
Odell Miller, Western Michigan, Senior, 3.57 GPA, Exercise Science (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
Tanner Motz, Western Michigan, Redshirt Freshman, 3.84 GPA, Environmental and Sustainability Studies (St. John's, Mich.)
*+^
Zach Novoselsky, Western Michigan, Graduate, 3.67 GPA, Management (Lincolnshire, Ill.)
*+
Giovanni Ricci, Western Michigan, Junior, 3.33 GPA, Finance (Loveland, Ohio)
Luke Sanders, Western Michigan, Sophomore, 3.95 GPA, Business (Fishers, Ind.)
Harrison Taylor, Western Michigan, Redshirt Freshman, 3.77 GPA, Business (St. Charles, Ill.)
Justin Tranquill, Western Michigan, Junior, 3.62 GPA, Sales & Business Marketing (Huntertown, Ind.)
*
Jon Wassink, Western Michigan, Junior, 3.95 GPA, Accountancy (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
*2017 Academic All-MAC selection
+2016 Academic All-MAC selection
^2015 Academic All-MAC selection
