Fifth-year senior defender Aaron Denk Gracia and redshirt senior midfielder/defender Dyon Dromers of the West Virginia University men’s soccer team have been named to the Academic All-America Second Team, the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) announced on Wednesday.
With the honors, WVU has now placed multiple players on Academic All-America teams in each of the last two seasons. The honor is the second for Denk Gracia, who was featured on the Academic All-America Third Team last season, and the first for Dromers.
Overall, WVU has now garnered 12 Academic All-America honors in program history.
Denk Gracia, a co-captain, played and started in 17 games for the Mountaineers last fall, scoring a goal and adding an assist for three total points. He logged 1,439 minutes and helped the WVU back line issue six shutouts on the year.
In all, the Mannheim, Germany, native played in 47 career matches at West Virginia, totaling 4,068 minutes. Away from the field, Denk Gracia has maintained a 3.66 GPA while pursuing a master’s degree in business administration. He also finished with a 3.97 GPA in undergrad, before earning his bachelor’s degree in business in May 2022.
Along with his two Academic All-America honors, Denk Gracia is a three-time Academic All-District selection by CoSIDA/CSC, earned the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award – the Big 12’s highest academic honor – has appeared on multiple Academic All-MAC and Academic All-Big 12 At-Large teams and been recognized on the President’s and Dean’s Lists.
A native of Steensel, Netherlands, Dromers co-led the Mountaineers with five goals in 2022. He added an assist for 11 total points in 18 matches, including 17 starts. Dromers logged 32 shots (15 on goal) in 1,354 minutes of action.
Dromers has 10 goals and 21 total points for WVU from 2020-22. He has started in 31 of his 37 career games in the Gold and Blue and has played in 2,624 career minutes.
In the classroom, Dromers finished with a 3.94 GPA in his pursuit of his bachelor’s degree in sport management, which he earned in May 2022. Currently, he is in his first semester of his sport management master’s program.
Dromers has reached the Academic All-MAC and Academic All-Big 12 At-Large teams over the past two years and has been placed on the President’s and Dean’s Lists at WVU.
The Mountaineers finished 7-7-4 in 2022, including 3-1-4 in Sun Belt play.