Soccer star Baako '11 named CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year
The conference selected a Scholar-Athlete of the Year in each of its 22 championship sports this season, and those winners were placed on the ballot for the male and female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. All of the winners were starters or important reserves on their team and had a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher. Not only did the finalists excel in the classroom, but also as athletes, with 14 of the scholar-athletes earning All-CAA honors this season.
Baako was honored as the 2010 NSCAA men’s Scholar All-America National Player of the Year. He graduated in May with a finance degree with a concentration in accounting, was named to the NSCAA Scholar All-America first team in 2009 and 2010. He is a four-time recipient of the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award.
On the field, Baako earned second-team All-America accolades from the NSCAA and Soccer America this season. A three-time first-team All-CAA midfielder, Baako scored four goals and added a team-high six assists to help lead William & Mary to its first CAA men’s soccer title since 2000. The Tribe finished the season ranked ninth in the nation and advanced to the third round of the NCAA men’s Soccer Championship.
Baako joins former basketball star Adam Hess ‘04, cross-country/track and field star Keith Bechtol ‘07, and soccer player Ryan Overdevest ’08 as W&M’s previous conference scholar-athletes of the year.
