Westminster Griffins senior defender, Preston McIllece, has been named to the CoSIDA Division II Academic All-America First Team.  The CoSIDA academic awards are voted on by the nation's sports information directors and are awarded to the top 33 student athletes in the country that meet their criteria for nomination.  To be nominated, student athletes must be a significant contributor on the field as well as maintain at least a 3.30 GPA.  McIllece is the first Westminster College student-athlete to earn Academic All-America honors
 
A computer science major with a GPA of 4.0, Preston has helped elevate the Westminster College soccer program into an RMAC conference contender.  On the field, Preston has logged 4,877 minutes while playing in 66 games with 57 starts, contributing 5 goals and 2 assists during his 4 years.  He ranks 4^th all-time in minutes played for the Griffin soccer program.  
 
Off the field, McIllece also serves as the President of the Student Athletes Advisory Committee. Preston is no stranger to awards this season.  He was named a 2019 All-RMAC Academic 1st team member in addition to receiving All-RMAC honorable mention.   
 
"This is such a great award for a most deserving student-athlete," Coach Josh Pittman said. "Preston is the model for what we want our guys to look like.  He is incredible in the classroom, a great person off the field, and a major contributor to our soccer program.   He comes to school every day and does things the right way.  We have been very lucky to have him here at Westminster!"