LOS ANGELES (Friday, July 7, 2017) -- The LA Galaxy Academy has announced its second-ever graduating class, with 10 seniors making up the Class of 2017. The seniors were recognized at a private graduation ceremony at StubHub Center on Friday, June 30.
All 10 seniors successfully completed the LA Galaxy Academy Program, a comprehensive student-athlete program that provides individualized and rigorous academic curriculum to the young athletes of the LA Galaxy Academy. The distinctive program mirrors the club’s expectations of excellence in discipline, character and respect, while establishing an environment that allows the LA Galaxy Academy student-athletes to develop as scholars and world-class soccer players.
The 10 graduating student-athletes are: Leo Zulli (Valedictorian, Loyola Marymount University), Alex Juarez (CSU Fullerton), David Preys (CSU Northridge), Eric Lopez (LA Galaxy II, CSU Dominguez Hills), Eric Payeras (Cerritos College), Kevin Diaz (Cerritos College), Leonides Cuteno (UC Riverside), Oscar Penate (CSU Fullerton), Patrick Murphy (Dartmouth College).
In addition to LA Galaxy Academy’s 2017 Valedictorian Leo Zulli, the Academy announced nine other academic award winners.
Freshman of the Year: Ramses Martinez
Sophomore of the Year: Jorge Hernandez and Cameron Williams
Junior of the Year: Charlie Anguiano and Kelee Cornfield-Saunders
Student-athlete of the Year: Leonardo Sepulveda
Scholar-athlete of the Year: John Hilton
Galaxy Award: Marco Ceja
Integrity Award: Jacob Muchnick
In total, 46 student-athletes were enrolled in the LA Galaxy Academy for the 2016-17 academic year. All 46 graduated or were promoted to the next grade level.
To date, four LA Galaxy Academy School graduates have signed professional soccer contracts with LA Galaxy and LA Galaxy II. Earlier this year, Hugo Arellano (Class of 2016) became the first graduate of the LA Galaxy Academy School to sign an MLS contract after previously being signed to LA Galaxy II. Ethan Zubak (Class of 2016), Jonathan Hernandez (Class of 2016), Eric Lopez (Class of 2017) are currently signed to LA Galaxy II. Other graduates include current LA Galaxy players Gyasi Zardes, Jose Villarreal, Raul Mendiola, Bradford Jamieson IV, Ariel Lassiter, Nathan Smith and Jaime Villarreal though none were part of the Academy School.
In 2015, the LA Galaxy Academy founded the LA Galaxy Academic Program to expand on its soccer-exclusive academy. Set at the LA Galaxy’s StubHub Center campus, the LA Galaxy Academy has enabled students to excel both on the field and in the classroom. On the field, the student-athletes train under the direction of top level coaches. In the classroom, the student-athletes received academic instruction from qualified and credentialed teachers in the combination of a physical classroom setting and online curricula.
For more information on the LA Galaxy Academy, please visit www.lagalaxy.com/academy.
LA Galaxy Academy class of 2017 graduate High School at StubHub Center by LA Galaxy on Exposure
