Bruins Net Nine Pac-12 All-Academic Honorees
December 03, 2018 | Men's Soccer
LOS ANGELES – Kike Poleo and Blayne Martinez headlined UCLA's nine honorees on the 2018 Pac-12 All-Academic Team, it was announced on Monday morning.
Poleo was a First Team pick while Martinez earned a Second Team nod. UCLA had seven honorable mentions including senior midfielder Anderson Asiedu, senior defender Erik Holt, sophomore forward Milan Iloski, junior defender Alex Knox, junior midfielder Roman Martin, redshirt junior defender Matthew Powell, and sophomore defender Brandon Terwege.
The Bruins' nine Academic All-Conference honorees were second-most in program history, trailing only the 2011 squad which had 11 All-Academic picks.
Poleo, a senior from Miami, Fla., appeared in 11 games this season with a pair of starts. He had one goal and two points on the year, with his lone tally the game-winner against Oregon State on Oct. 7. The economics major has compiled a 3.65 cumulative GPA to this point in his academic career. He was a Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team choice as a junior in 2017.
Martinez, a redshirt junior forward from Dana Point, Calif., appeared in 13 games with one start. He registered one assist on the year, setting up Frankie Amaya's first collegiate goal on Sept. 22 at UC Santa Barbara. A political science major, he has logged a 3.66 GPA during his time at UCLA. 2018 represents the third consecutive season in which Martinez has been named to the Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team.
A trio of Bruins made the Pac-12 All-Conference Team and the Pac-12 All-Academic Team: Holt, Asiedu, and Iloski.
To be eligible for the academic team, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point average and appear in at least 50 percent of their team's games.
