HOUSTON- The University of St. Thomas Athletic Department honors a male and female student-athlete every year based on their excellence on the court, in the classroom and within the UST community. Men's Soccer's Tom Hultsch has been named the 2021 Co-Male Student-Athlete of the Year. Cameron Gims from Men's Basketball is the other recipient of this award.
Hultsch, who's wrapping up an illustrious soccer career, impressed both on the pitch and in the classroom. The senior defender from Luneburg, Germany started every game in his career and was a three-year team captain. In 2019, Hultsch anchored a defense that had the lowest goals against average (0.88) in the entire Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. This same season, he was SCAC Elite 19 recipient and was tabbed First Team All-Conference. In 2021, he helped lead the Celts to the SCAC Championship game and was a part of a defense that led the conference in shutouts. In addition to picking up Defensive Player of the Week honors, he was yet again a First Team All-SCAC selection and finished second in voting for the SCAC Defensive Player of the Year.
"I'm feeling extremely honored to receive this award" Hultsch said. "I would not have been able to get here without my team, and it's great to get recognition for the season we had! Overall, it makes me proud that I was able to make an impact, and I'm incredibly grateful for the time I had at UST."
Hultsch will graduate with a double major in Economics and Finance with a minor in Data Analytics. Through his four years on campus, he posted a cumulative 3.99 GPA. Hultsch has accepted a full-time position with Ernst & Young.
During his time as a Celt, Hultsch has made an impact on the community as he served the youth as a volunteer assistant coach and participated in multiple service projects.
"Tom has set the standard for leadership and academic excellence in the Men's Soccer program at UST" Head Coach Ian Clerihew said. "We want our guys to compete at a high level on the field and in the classroom and Tom does this with great consistency. Tom has meant so much to our program over the past 4 years. As a three-year team captain, his presence in training and games has been invaluable and his dedication to his academics is even more impressive.
