AUSTIN, Texas - The trophy case continues to swell for Thaylan Silva, as he earns CoSIDA first team Academic All-American honors on Thursday, Dec. 9.
Silva, a grad student from São Paulo, Brazil, earns the honors for the second straight season. Silva was second team Academic All-American after the 2020-21 spring season. Silva earns the honor after compiling a 3.80 GPA while persuing his MBA from Carson-Newman. He has already obtained an undergraduate degree in communications, finishing with a GPA of 3.73.
Silva is the first men's soccer player to be named CoSIDA first team Academic All-American in program history. Sindre Welo was an NSCAA First-Team Scholar All-American in 2015 with Kyle Frohock landing both ESPN Academic and CoSIDA second-team honors in 2004. He is also the first men's soccer player to earn back-to-back Academic All-American honors.
Only five grad students were selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-American teams, with four of them, counting Silva, earning first team honors. Just two of the honorees had a higher grad school GPA than Silva. Andrew Elkins of Auburn University at Montgomery recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA while Lorenzo Valentini of Northwest Nazarene recorded a 3.84 GPA.
Two fellow SAC athletes join Silva as Academic All-Americans. Jacques Fokam-Sandeu of Coker was also named to the first team, while Bryce Goodwyn of Anderson was named second team All-American.
The honor comes one day after Silva earned D2CCA second team All-American for his play during the 2021 fall season. Silva recorded 11 goals and four assists for the Eagles, en route to Carson-Newman winning their SAC record eleventh regular season conference championship.
The awards also poured in for Silva during the season as he was the only player in the SAC this year to earn back-to-back conference player of the week honors. Silva was voted the SAC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 16 and Oct. 23 this season in a run where the senior from Brazil scored six goals in three matches.
History was made during Silva's senior season when he was named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week on Oct. 18, the first men's soccer player from Carson-Newman to earn the honor and the first soccer player at Carson-Newman to be named National Player of the Week since Lauren Wade earned the accolade for the women's team in 2017.
Silva earned SAC Offensive Player of the Year honors after consistantly stuffing the stat sheet during his senior season. Silva lead the team in goals, points, shots on goal and game-winners during the 2021 season. This is the third straight year that Silva has been named all-conference and second straight year he has earned SAC First-Team honors
Carson-Newman has produced 55 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans since softball's Brandi Hardin garnered first-team honors in 1992. Silva is the first Eagle to earn the plaudits for the 2021-22 academic year.
Carlos Ferrando Felis of Franklin Pierce University was named CoSIDA All-Academic Team Player of the Year after compiling a grad school GPA of 3.67. and an undergrad GPA of 3.98.
Twenty of the 35 members of the 2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II Men's Soccer teams have at least a 3.90 GPA, with eight student-athletes maintaining a perfect 4.00 GPA. The 12 members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.90.
The Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2020-21 Division II Academic All-America® program.
