The California trio of Marco Brougher, Santiago Hopkins and Gaku Nishimura was named to the College Sports Communicators NCAA Division I Academic All-District Men's Soccer Team, CSC announced Tuesday. This marks the second consecutive Academic All-District honor for Hopkins, while Brougher and Nishimura collect the accolade for the first time.
 
A student-athlete must compile at least a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average and compete in 90% of the institution's games or must start in at least 66% of the institution's games to be nominated for the CSC Academic All-District Team.
 
Brougher is a mechanical engineering major who was named to last season's Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Roll. The Los Altos Hills product became Cal's starting goalie in his junior season, playing in all 18 games and starting 17. He ranked second at Cal in minutes played with 1,503. When the Bears ended their season in the ACC Championship semifinals, Brougher led the conference in saves (61) and saves per game (3.39) and ranked second in save percentage (.735). He also tied for fifth in shutouts (5), while his goals-against average (1.32) ranked ninth. One of his shutouts came during the regular season in Cal's 1-0 upset at then-No. 1 Pitt, with Brougher making a career-high seven saves to preserve the victory. His performance – arguably his best as a collegian – garnered Brougher the ACC Defensive Player of the Week award and a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week. He earned the Top Drawer Soccer honor a second time after he made five saves in a 1-0 shutout at then-No. 2 Duke in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
 
Brougher was chosen as a CSC Academic All-America finalist. Voting for the three Academic All-America teams began Tuesday and ends Nov. 26 at 8:59 p.m. PT. All CSC members are eligible to vote on the ballots in their division.
 
Hopkins, a senior from West Hills, is a mechanical engineering major who was named to the Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Roll in 2022 and 2023. A speedy and tenacious right back with a crunching tackle, Hopkins played in 16 of 18 games in his final season in Berkeley and started 14 times. He posted two assists, including a big one in a 2-1 ACC Championship first-round upset of then-No. 14 North Carolina. With Cal trailing the host Tar Heels 1-0, Hopkins' long throw in found Malcolm Zalayet deep in the UNC box, and the forward deposited the ball in the back of the net with a scissor kick to tie the match. During the regular season, Hopkins also assisted on a Rohan McEligot goal in a 4-2 win over Saint Mary's at Edwards Stadium.
 
Nishimura, who transferred to Cal after playing two seasons at San Jose State, is undeclared. A native of Yokohama, Japan, he posted two goals, two assists and six points in his first year as a Bear, netting his goals in a pair of ties against ACC opponents at home. Against Virginia, Nishimura took a long-range shot that was blocked by a Cavalier and then collected the rebound. The junior midfielder made no mistake with his second shot, a 22-yard blast to the upper left corner of the net. In Cal's next home game, with the Bears trailing Louisville by a goal late in the second half, Nishimura hit another long-range shot to tie the Cardinals 3-3. Nishimura started 13 of 16 games played.
 
STAY POSTED
For more coverage of the Cal men's soccer team, please follow the Bears on X (@CalMSoc), Instagram (@CalMSoc) and Facebook (/CalMSoc).