KALAMAZOO, Mich.- A day after they were named Scholar All-Region, Western Michigan senior captains Brandon Bye, Drew Shepherd and Zach Bock learned they have been selected as Scholar All-Americans by the United Soccer Coaches. Both Bye and Shepherd were named First Team Scholar All-Americans, while Bock was chosen to the Second Team.

In total, Western Michigan has had five Academic/Scholar All-American selections this season, as Bock and Bye were named Academic All-Americans by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) earlier this month. Prior to this season, Western Michigan had not had an Academic All-American in men's soccer of any kind.

In addition to the scholastic honors, Bye, Shepherd and Bock have been highly decorated for their athletic performances in 2017. All three were honored as All-Region and Bye and Shepherd became the program's first All-Americans.

Bye was named a First Team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches, as well as College Soccer News. He was a Hermann Trophy semifinalist and was named MAC Player of the Year and First Team All-MAC after leading the conference with 12 goals and seven assists, totaling 31 points, which ranked among leaders nationally.

Shepherd was as Second Team All-American pick by the United Soccer Coaches and collected First Team All-MAC honors, becoming the first ever Bronco goalkeeper to do so. Shepherd had a 16-3-1 record in goal for the Broncos and was responsible for 13 of the team's 14 shutouts. The 13 shutouts ranked third most in Division I this season. He set a new WMU record for goalkeeper wins, single-season shutouts and career shutouts. His career 0.75 goals-against average will also go down as best in school history.

Bock was an All-Region selection by the United Soccer Coaches and has been a four-year starter for Western Michigan. As a center back, Bock anchored the Bronco defense that totaled 14 shutouts this season. He also scored one goal, the game-winner in a 3-2 victory over LIU-Brooklyn, and had one assist.

Bock maintains a 3.98 cumulative grade-point average, studying sales & business marketing. Bye is double majoring in food & consumer packaging goods and marketing & supply chain management and carries a 3.74 GPA. Shepherd has a 3.32 GPA in aviation flight science.

The three co-captains led Western Michigan to unprecedented success in 2017 and a No. 9 final national ranking. The Broncos won their first ever MAC regular season championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, where the team was given a first round bye. WMU went on to defeat UAlbany in the second round for the school's first ever NCAA Tournament win and advanced to the Sweet 16 before eventually falling to Michigan State.

The Broncos finished the season with a 17-4-1 overall record and went undefeated during the MAC season with a perfect 5-0-0 record. WMU was ranked in the United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll for 11 consecutive weeks, reaching as high as No. 4, and spent seven weeks ranked inside the top 10. WMU set program records for most wins and shutouts in a season.