Brains and Boots: Eckerd Men’s Soccer Crushes it in the Classroom

It’s easy to look at a college roster and assume it’s all about fitness tests, tactical drills, and finding the perfect post-match pub sub. But over at Eckerd College, the men’s soccer squad is reminding us that they’re actual students, too.

United Soccer Coaches just released their Team Academic Award winners, and our boys in St. Pete officially made the list. This isn’t one of those participation trophies you get for just showing up to a 101-level lecture; it’s a nod to teams that maintain a high-level collective GPA throughout the academic year.

While most of us were probably stressing over a single mid-term, these guys managed to balance a grueling Sunshine State Conference schedule—which, let's be honest, is a meat grinder—with some serious library time. It’s one thing to have a high soccer IQ when you're looking for that clinical through-ball, but it’s another to keep the cumulative grade point average high enough to earn national recognition.

In a town where we love our sports gritty and our locals smart, it’s great to see the Tritons representing both. Whether they are defending the pitch at Johnson Field or grinding through finals week, they are proving that you don't have to sacrifice the books to be a baller.

Major props to the squad for showing that the 'student' part of student-athlete actually means something at Eckerd. Now, let’s see if that smart play translates to some more Ws this coming season.

Source: Eckerd College Athletics

Source: Eckerd College Athletics — “Men's soccer named recipient of USC Team Academic Award”