Blue Devils Earn Academic All-America, Postseason Top-100 Honors

DURHAM – College Sports Communicators (CSC) and TopDrawerSoccer (TDS) have announced postseason honors, with multiple Duke men’s soccer players earning recognition.

Nick Pariano earned First Team Academic All-America honors from CSC while also being tabbed at No. 78 overall in the postseason Top 100 published by TDS. Forster Ajago was picked as the 27th best player nationally and Amir Daley slotted in at No. 74 in the same rankings. Two Duke freshmen also earned a spot on TDS’ Freshmen Top 100, with Julian Eyestone being ranked as the fifth-best freshman in the country and Ulfur Bjornsson following closely behind at No. 8 overall.

Following a successful four-year career with the Blue Devils, Pariano signed a MLS Homegrown contract with the Philadelphia Union on December 14. To read more about his signing with the MLS side, click here. Ajago tallied one of the best offensive performances in recent Blue Devil history during the past season, scoring a total of 14 goals in 18 matches, while adding four assists for a total of 32 points. The graduate was named Second Team All-America and a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy. Daley earned First Team All-South Region recognition after starting in all but one of Duke’s matches in 2023, playing a career-high 1,570 minutes. He finished the year with six total points, after scoring one goal and tallying four assists. 

Bjornsson was another key member of Duke’s strong attacking presence on the field in 2023. The freshman from Iceland scored 10 goals, including a stretch of six goals in three games towards the end of the campaign, while adding four assists for a total of 24 points. After reclassing to 2023 recruiting class and joining the Blue Devils a year early, Eyestone started every match in goal and recorded six total shutouts. The Dallas, Texas native recently announced his intentions to pursue a professional career. Both Bjornsson and Eyestone earned ACC All-Freshman and Second Team All-ACC postseason recognition, the only two freshman to appear on the All-ACC Second Team.

First Team Academic All-America

Ethan Brandt, Western Michigan University, Gr., 3.86/3.86, Aviation Flight Science

Tommy Silva, UCLA, Sr., 4.00, Communications

Jason Belloli, University of Denver, Jr., 3.91, Psychology

Youri Senden, Drexel University, Sr., 3.90, Finance

Wyatt Meyer,…