UNLV's Kyle Mellies and Incarnate Word's Dylan Kelly were both named to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America Men's Soccer Teams as selected and announced on Tuesday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Mellies is the first men's soccer player at UNLV since 2001 and fourth all-time to earn academic All-America honors after being named to the second team. A senior defender for the Rebels, Mellies led the team to one of the best seasons in school history, as UNLV swept the WAC regular season and tournament championships. That led to the Rebels' first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 26 years, where they lost in the first round to UC Irvine.
Mellies was a key component of UNLV's success, as he anchored a defensive backline that posted a conference-best 10 shutouts on the season. He also tied for third on the team in scoring for the season with 12 points off four goals and two assists. That was good enough to earn him WAC Defensive Player of the Year honors, while also receiving all-conference first-team honors.
He has received conference academic recognition for the past three seasons. Holding a 3.80 GPA, Mellies is close to finishing his degree in civil engineering.
University of the Incarnate Word junior forward Dylan Kelly was named to the third team after finishing second on the Cardinals in scoring with six goals and three assists for a total of 15 points. The engineering management major has a 3.89 grade point average and was a second team all-WAC selection this year and is a two-time Capital One Academic All-District VII first team choice.
Kelly is only the third Capital One Academic All-American in the program's history.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, and have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at her current institution.