Men's Soccer | January 12, 2023

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Peach Belt Conference (PBC) announced on Thursday morning its selections for the men's soccer Team of Academic Distinction (TOADs).  The Clayton State University men's soccer program saw six players be recognized on the list. 
 
The Lakers are led by three-time PBC TOAD selections Geo Rios and Christian Ransome while Lewis Green, Isami Takeuchi, Niall Swan, and Hector Fuentes earned their second-straight TOAD accolade. Fuentes and Green are two of 10 men's soccer players in the PBC that achieved a 4.00 GPA. 
 
Ransome, who earned College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District and Second-Team All-United Soccer Coaches' (USC) Scholar Athlete, earlier this year, can add this honor to an already impressive resume in 2022.  Ransome, who also earned a Peach Belt Conference (PBC) First Team All-Conference, was one of four players that played in all 19 matches for the Lakers.  The Port-au-Spain Trinidad and Tobago native notched an assist in the win against North Greenville and led the team with 1688 minutes played this season. Ransome is studying Supply Chain Management. 
 
Rios, who excels on the soccer pitch, is also a very gifted student-athlete.  Majoring in Accounting, Geo is also a two-time All-Region and All-American selection on the USC Scholar Athlete program.  This is also in addition to being named a CSC Academic All-District and second-team Academic All-America earlier this season. A native of Lawrenceville, Ga., Rios was second in the nation, averaging .79 assists a match and finished tied for fourth with 15 total assists.   In addition, Rios added a career-high six goals on 51 shots.  Rios also notched 27 points on the season. Rios has earned a laundry list of athletic accolades this season which includes a D2CCA All-America second-team nod, being named as the D2CCA Southeast Region Player of the Year and gathering USC Second-team All-Region honors.
 
Majoring in marketing, Green can add this honor to an impressive resume that includes a CSC Academic All-District nod.  This past season, Green notched a pair of assists in 17 matches played.  While he was playing, the Laker defense only surrendered 28 goals and scored 44.  Majoring in Computer Science, Takeuchi had a good season for Clayton State.  This season, Takeuchi made 18 starts and tallied four assists and scored the match-tying goal at Young Harris on September 28^th.  Majoring in General Business, Swan was a key reserve for the Lakers this past season.  Swan notched a pair of assists in 252 minutes played.  Those two assists came against Erskine in the season opener. 
 
Majoring Business Administration, Fuentes had a stellar season for Clayton State.  Fuentes, who played in 18 matches, ended the season with a pair of goals and three assists.  Fuentes was also one of two Lakers that found themselves on the PBC All-Tournament team.
 
About the Distinction
The team is a part of the PBC's larger initiative to celebrate the academic achievements of PBC student-athletes and is modeled on the CSC (College Sports Communicators) Academic All-America program.

To be eligible for the team, a student-athlete must 1) participate in at least half of his/her team's events and be either a starter or significant contributor; 2) achieved a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and 3) completed at least one full academic year at his or her current institution and has reached sophomore athletic eligibility. The Peach Belt Conference Sports Information Directors oversee the program.

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