Rio Grande's Paulino voted KIAC Male Athlete of the Year 2015-16
FLORENCE, Ky. -- After being named NAIA national player of the year in his respective sport and leading his team to an NAIA national championship, University of Rio Grande junior men's soccer player Willian Paulino has been voted the 2015-16 KIAC Male Athlete of the Year, the conference announced on Thursday.
Each KIAC member school nominates one male student-athlete for the award each year. Conference athletic directors cast the voting with one winner chosen across all KIAC sports.
Paulino, a junior forward from Sao Paulo, Brazil, had a team-high 19 goals and 43 points for Rio Grande, which had an historic season with a final record of 23-1 overall and an NAIA men's soccer national championship.
Rio Grande was ranked No. 1 in the nation all year. Paulino's 19 goals led a RedStorm offense that ranked second in the nation with 93 total goals on the year. Paulino was 12th in the nation in goals and 15th in points.
KIAC Offensive Player of the Year honors went to Paulino as well with the RedStorm going a perfect 6-0 in conference play and winning the KIAC Tournament.
Other awards included NAIA Men's Soccer All-America First Team and NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship All-Tournament Team.
Paulino led Rio Grande with five game-winning goals. He had two goals in a key, 3-0 win over NAIA Top 25-ranked WVU Tech in a key KIAC showdown that kept the RedStorm atop the conference and national rankings.
For more information on the KIAC, visit KIACSports.com. On July 1, 2016, the KIAC will change its name to the River States Conference. #KIAC #NAIA #ReSpeCt