Written By: WAC Media Relations

DENVER, CO - The Western Athletic Conference today announced the 2019 Academic All-WAC honorees from men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer and volleyball. To be eligible for the honor, a student-athlete must have completed at least one academic year, have at least a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average and have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's contests.

A total of 290 student-athletes were named to the list. Of the first and second team All-WAC selections from the fall sports, 63 percent were also honored as Academic All-WAC honorees, including all seven first-team All-WAC volleyball players. Grand Canyon had the most honorees with 45, followed by Utah Valley with 37, California Baptist with 34 and Seattle U with 31. Of the sports, women's soccer had the most honorees with 81.

Men's Cross Country

NM State
James McLain, Jr.
Noah Ward, So.

Women's Cross Country  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State women's soccer team signed 12 new student-athletes to National Letters of Intent, head coach Rob Baarts announced.

"We are incredibly excited about our 2020 class. We have not only talented players coming in, we have fantastic athletes as well," Baarts said. "Competing at the Division I level takes a combination of athleticism and technical ability and we feel we have all of that in this class. Our 2020 class hail from Clubs like FC Portland, San Juan SC, Utah Royals, SV Thunder, San Diego Force, DMVC Sharks and FC Tucson who all teach the game the way we want to play at the college level. Our 2019 season finished on a good note winning three of our last four games and learning what it means to truly compete at the NCAA DI level. This combined with a talented class will put bump our Aggie Soccer Program to a whole new level. Can't wait for our new family members to arrive on campus!"  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

DENVER, CO - Sophomore Corey Kizer was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week after an offensive explosion, the league announced Monday.

The Placitas, N.M. native was unstoppable in a 3-1 win at UT Rio Grande Valley, scoring two goals on just three shots. Her first goal of the match came in the eighth minute when she received a cross from Emma Smith and beat a charging UTRGV keeper. Kizer struck again in the 73rd minute, finishing off a cross from Hannah Leitner. This was the first multi-goal game of Kizer’s career.

Kizer wraps up the season as the Aggies’ leader in goals (5) and points (11). The forward scored four of her five goals during conference play, including the game-winner in overtime against CSU Bakersfield on Oct. 18.

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

DENVER, CO - Sophomore Lece Aviles was named Defensive Player of the Week by the Western Athletic Conference on Monday morning. This is the first weekly award for an Aggie this season and the first of Aviles’ career.

The Aztec, N.M., played every minute at center back as NM State allowed just one goal in two overtime conference wins over the weekend. She anchored the back line in a 1-0 shutout win over CSU Bakersfield in Las Cruces on Oct. 18, the Aggies’ first shutout of the season. The converted forward totaled 192:05 of time on the backline over the weekend.

Currently, Aviles, a converted forward, has played every minute at center back in 13 of New Mexico State’s 16 matches on the year. She leads the squad in minutes played at 1,456 minutes.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State women’s soccer team dropped its season opener, 3-1, to Abilene Christian at the Soccer Athletic Complex on Friday afternoon.

The Aggies came out strong, as they dominated possession for much of the first 18 minutes of the match. However, the Wildcats were awarded a penalty in the box in the 20th minute and Michelle Mulrooney converted for a 1-0 Wildcat lead.

Now playing with a lead, ACU ratcheted up the pressure and struck again in the 28th minute, with Christina Arteaga receiving a pass in the box from Emily Heidman and finishing to make it 2-0 Abilene Christian. The Wildcats nearly added another goal in the 29th minute but Dmitri Fong was there to make the stop.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

DENVER, CO - The New Mexico State women’s soccer team was selected to finish seventh in the Western Athletic Conference in a poll of the league’s coaches, the conference announced Tuesday.

Defending WAC Tournament champion Seattle U was picked to finish first with six out of a possible eight first-place votes and 61 total points.
Kansas City, who won the 2018 regular season championship, follow in second with two first-place votes and 52 points with UT Rio Grande Valley picked to finish third with 48 points.

Utah Valley picked up the final first-place vote and 46 points for fourth while GCU was tabbed for fifth with 34 points. CSU Bakersfield (31) is projected to finish sixth with NM State and California Baptist tied for seventh at 22 points each. Chicago State rounds out the poll with eight points.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State head women’s soccer coach Rob Baarts shored up his staff with the addition of veteran goalkeeper coach Brian Periman, Baarts announced Wednesday.

“I cannot even begin to say how fortunate we are to have someone with Brian’s experience joining our NM State coaching staff,” Baarts said. “Brian is an exceptional goalkeeper Coach that also brings tremendous experience in several areas. He will immediately have an impact with video analysis and his attention to detail. Brian will also help greatly with national recruiting as he is a US Soccer scout for the Central Region. This will widen our recruiting reach over the next several years. Needless to say we are incredibly excited to welcome Brian to the Aggie Soccer family!”  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State women’s soccer team added Oregon State transfer Shea O’Connor for the 2019 season, head coach Rob Baarts announced on Thursday. O’Connor is set to compete as a junior this season.

“We are very excited to add Shea O’Connor to our 2019 roster from Oregon State. Shea will bring a tremendous hold up game for our forward line,” Baarts said. “We are adding a lot of pace in our flank play, which will fit Shea’s ability as a central forward to be a fantastic outlet for our midfield and back line. She loves to score goals and will be a force to be dealt with! Can’t wait to see what her next two years look like.”

2018: Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention...played in all 19 games with 13 starts...posted a season-high three shots against Dartmouth (Sept. 2).  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State head women’s soccer coach Rob Baarts unveiled the 2019 schedule on Thursday morning, which features 12 home fixtures, seven road matches and one neutral site contest.

“Our 2019 schedule starts us off with two home games in Abilene Christian and Wyoming, who are both very organized and hard-working teams,” said Baarts. “We follow up those home games with a challenging road trip to Boise State and Idaho State.”  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: WAC Media Relations

DENVER - Kansas City was picked to top the 2018 WAC women's soccer standings in the preseason selection by the league's head coaches. Kansas City also claimed the Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in Lexie Howard and Abby Small, respectively. The league's head coaches selected these honors and could not vote for their own student-athlete.

After winning the regular season title in 2017, Kansas City claimed first in the 2018 preseason rankings with five first-place votes and 60 total points. 2017 tournament champion Utah Valley was just behind, snagging four first-place votes and 57 points. Seattle U was voted third with 50 points while Grand Canyon was selected fourth with 38. UT Rio Grande Valley was one point behind grabbing fifth. Named sixth, NM State earned 30 points followed by CSU Bakersfield, California Baptist, and Chicago State.  Continue Reading This Post >>