DENVER -- Defender Jeff Dukes and midfielders Eduardo Buenfil, Jered Mariani and Willy Miranda have been named as Academic All-Western Athletic Conference honorees for the 2019 men's soccer season.
Dukes, a senior out of Vacaville, Calif., graduated last month with a degree in business management. This marks the defender's third Academic All-WAC award.
Buenfil, Mariani and Miranda are all first-time honorees.
"All four players have excelled on the field and in the classroom," says head coach Simon Tobin. "Not only are they developing into top college players, they are a credit to SJSU and the community. They are setting a great example for the entire squad here."
To be nominated, a student-athlete must have at a least a 3.20 cumulative grade-point average, have at least one year at the nominating institution and participate in at least 50 percent of the team's contests.
Miranda tallied two goals and one assist while controlling the center of the pitch with precision throughout the season. Buenfil appeared in all 19 matches on the 2019 season for Tobin's team, tallying one goal while ranking fifth in the club with 20 shots.
Dukes started all 18 matches he appeared in while logging over 1500 minutes of playing time. One of the top Spartan defenders, Dukes also made his presence known on the offensive end of the pitch with six shots on frame and a goal in a huge victory over Utah Valley.
Confusing goals = best goals ??#SpartanUp?? pic.twitter.com/tVYIkTtys5
— San José State Men's Soccer (@SanJoseStateMS) October 26, 2019
Mariani, a redshirt freshman, rounds out the group of honorees. The midfielder broke into the team's rotation in his first season of competition and appeared in 14 matches for San José State.
Tobin has now seen 20 of his players earn Academic All-WAC honors since taking over at the helm of the Spartans in 2014. The coach has seen success both in the classroom and on the pitch as his 343 career victories ranks at No. 10 among active coaches in all of Division I.