Beachler and Byrd Named to Academic All-District Team

Academic All-District Men's Soccer Team | TU Honors Page

UPLAND, Ind. – Josh Beachler and Rocky Byrd were each named to the Capital One Academic All-District II First-Team for men's soccer today, as voted on and announced by the College of Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The award is designed to recognize student-athletes for outstanding achievements in the classroom, as well as on the field or court of play. In order to be eligible for the honor, an athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30 or higher on a 4.0 scale, must have reached sophomore status academically with one full year at the current institution of enrollment and must have participated in over half of the team's competitions during the current season.

Beachler was selected as a First-Team Academic All-District performer last year as well. The Elgin, Illinois native posts a 3.81 GPA in the classroom as a Finance major, and has been an integral part of the men's soccer program during his four years. The senior scored four goals and recorded three assists in his first two years on the team as a forward before making the switch to the defense, where he has started in 34 games on the back line.

Byrd was named First-Team Academic All-District for the first time after being named a NAIA Scholar Athlete and being placed on the Academic All-Crossroads League team last season. The Danville, Indiana native boasts a team-high 3.87 GPA as a Finance major and has recorded one goal and an assist this season. The senior has tallied two goals and two assists in his career while appearing in 60 matches for the Trojans over his career as an outside defender.

Beachler and Byrd are the first two Trojans of the 2015-16 school year to be named to the Academic All-District team. The Trojans finished with 29 Academic All-District players a year ago, while also picking up the most CoSIDA Academic All-America awards of any NAIA, Canadian and two-year institutions with 12, including two players named Academic All-America-of-the-Year.

The two will now be placed on the national ballot for the Capital One Academic All-America team, which will be announced on November 19.