Hunter Soper (Lexington, Mich.) has been selected to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America First Team for NCAA DII, as announced by the CSC and voted on by college sports communicators of NCAA DII institutions.
Soper has excelled on and off the court for LSSU throughout his career, but his talents on the court were truly showcased over the past two seasons. This year alone, he started in all 37 games for the Lakers, totaling career best numbers of 408 points, 261 rebounds, 82 assists, 60 steals, and 38 blocks. He led the GLIAC in steals and his average of 7.1 rebounds per game was also the league's top mark. He especially excelled on the defensive end of the floor, being selected as the league's Defensive Player of the Week six times before ultimately being named as the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year as well as to the All-GLIAC First Team after leading the league's top defensive unit. He was a pivotal piece to the Lakers' lineup, helping his team to their deepest postseason run in program history with a Midwest Regional Championship, an NCAA DII Elite Eight appearance, and a program record 30 wins.
Academically, Soper has maintained a GPA of 3.89 in social science and secondary teaching, is a multi-year honoree for the GLIAC Academic Excellence Team, and was inducted into the inaugural class of the Michigan Pi chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma honor society. He was also chosen by the LSSU head coaches as the 2025 recipient of the Bud Cooper Coaches Trophy which is awarded annually to an athlete in the LSSU athletic department that has displayed outstanding qualities of citizenship, leadership, active campus participation, and has contributed significantly to the athletic program.
Andy Soma, a Traverse City West High School alum and now Lake Superior State University alum, has been part of the Laker basketball team for five years. This season marked his final appearance, as he has now graduated, leaving behind a legacy of broken records and a highly successful concluding performance.
Soma has played in a whopping 139 games during his basketball career at LSSU, setting a new record for most games played by a single player at the university. He played in all 37 games this past season and helped lead the Lakers to 53 wins over the past two seasons.
In addition to his successes on the court, Soma was selected as the 2024-25 male recipient of the GLIAC Pat Riepma Postgraduate Scholarship by the Faculty Athletic Representatives of the GLIAC member institutions. He will receive $5,000 in aid to the graduate school of his choice.
