SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford senior defender Billy Padula and Elon junior forward Jason Waterman have been named to the 2013-14 CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-America teams for their accomplishments on the field and in the classroom.
Padula earned a spot on the second team, while Waterman took a spot on the third team.
This is Padula’s first CoSIDA Capital One All-America honor and his third CoSIDA Capital One honor overall. He is a two-time Academic All-District IV selection, as he was named to the team this season and last season.
Padula is only the second player in Wofford men’s soccer history to be named to the Academic All-America Team, following Alex Hutchins’ selection to the third team last season. He is also the first Terrier to make it as a second-team selection.
Padula, an Irmo, S.C., native, started in all 19 games this season for the Terriers at the center back position. He was a part of a Wofford men’s soccer team that won its first Southern Conference regular-season title since 2009 and appeared in its third Southern Conference Championship title game in the last five seasons.
Not only was he a huge part of a defense that gave up just six goals in Southern Conference play, but he also made an enormous impact on the offensive end, tallying a single-season career-high 11 assists. His 11 assists ranked first on the team and in the Southern Conference and in the top five in NCAA Division I.
Padula has excelled in the classroom as a double major in business economics and government, posting an overall grade point average of 3.88.
Padula has been a two-time member of the Southern Conference Fall All-Academic Team and has been a three-time member of the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.
The academic achievement is the first for Waterman and the fourth Academic All-America accolade for the Elon program overall. A communication science major with a 3.65 cumulative GPA, Waterman helped the Phoenix to its third straight Southern Conference title and NCAA tournament berth this season. The striker paced the maroon and gold offensively with 31 total points, currently ninth in the nation, on a team-best 12 goals and seven assists.
The Bloomington, Ind., native scored the game-winning goal in the SoCon tournament championship match over Wofford as the Phoenix became only the second team in league history to win three straight conference titles. He also helped the Phoenix reach the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time ever, as he scored a goal in regulation and had the game-clinching penalty kick in the round of PKs as the Phoenix advanced past Clemson in the opening round.
Waterman was also named first-team All-SoCon this past year and earned a spot on the league’s academic all-conference team last season.
Waterman joins Steven Kinney, Clint Irwin and James Carroll as members of the program that have received Academic All-American honors and becomes the first since 2011.
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, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 19,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.