ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – James Rogers was named the Lobo Club’s Male Student-Athlete of the Year Monday night at the Lobo Scholar-Athlete Banquet, while Josh Dye received two honors for his 4.05 GPA.
“As a program when we talk about Lobo Soccer we talk about excellence in the classroom, excellence in the community and excellence on the playing field,” head coach Jeremy Fishbein said, “and James and Josh, as well as many of our other guys, really exemplify what we stand for.”
Rogers, who was selected in the third round of the MLS Draft and signed with Sporting KC’s first team, truly exemplifies those qualities. He graduated with a degree in political science and a 3.4 GPA. His work in the classroom earned NSCAA Scholar All-America honors last year, and he was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District recipient.
On the playing field, Rogers finished his career as one of the top players in program history. He ranks in the top 10 in assists (fourth, 20), shots (fourth, 179), points (eighth, 64), goals (eighth, 22) and starts (eighth, 74). He helped lead UNM to three straight Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including a trip to the program’s second ever College Cup in 2013.
No Lobo was more involved in the community in recent years than James. His dedication to help those in the community who are less fortunate than he earned him a place as one of 24 national semifinalists for the Wooden Citizenship Cup.
“It’s always an honor to see one of your players get such an award,” Fishbein said. “Student-athlete of the year for the entire department is a pretty great thing. James is deserving of it. I think the thing that makes him special is his commitment to the community. He’s a very good student and an excellent player, but what really distinguished him is his sense of giving back, so that’s pretty special.”
Dye, who will be a redshirt senior in 2015 for the Lobos, was named to the UNM All-Academic Team as the top student-athlete in the men’s soccer program due to his GPA in electrical engineering. He was also one of just seven student-athletes in the entire department to earn a director’s chair for having a GPA above 4.0. This comes on the heels of him being named a CoSIDA Academic All-American last season.
“To have a GPA above a 4.0 in electrical engineering after four years of college is a little beyond my comprehension,” Fishbein said. “Those two guys have really set the bar high for this program.”