Belluardo Named CSC Academic All-America
Matthew Belluardo of Suffolk’s men’s soccer team was selected to the 2025 Academic All-America® men’s soccer third-team as selected by the College Sports Communicators, the national organization announced Tuesday afternoon.
GREENWOOD, Ind. – Matthew Belluardo of Suffolk's men's soccer team was selected to the 2025 Academic All-America® men's soccer third-team as selected by the College Sports Communicators, the national organization announced Tuesday afternoon.
CSC (formerly CoSIDA) began the distinguished Academic All-America® program in 1952, and since then, has honored thousands of deserving student-athletes from numerous sports across all divisions with elite Academic All-America scholar-athlete honors. The distinction recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
Belluardo is the first member of the blue-and-gold's men's soccer program to achieve the feat. He joins a coveted list of Rams to pick up the honor and is the first to do so since men's cross country and track and field's Matyas Csiki-Fejer did so in 2021-22. Overall, five Suffolk student-athletes have combined for eight Academic All-America® recognitions in the University's history.
The 2025 Conference of New England (CNE) Scholar-Athlete of the Year was voted on the CSC Academic All-America® Third-Team as a senior undergraduate law major. He has maintained a near perfect grade point average of 3.97 throughout six collegiate semesters, which is the ninth-best GPA of the 33 men selected to the 2025 Academic All-America® NCAA Division III Team. He made his way on the Academic All-America® ballot for the first time following his third Academic All-District achievement, which made him the second-ever member of men's soccer to take home three since Taj Jensen earned one every year he was eligible from 2021-24.
Belluardo was one of three CNE students on the Academic All-America® ballot this season and the lone player to pick up the recognition. He is the first CNE student-athlete to garner the accomplishment since Endicott's Taig Frazao was named to the Academic All-America® First-Team a year ago.
Athletically, the defender from Mahwah, New Jersey, left his mark on Suffolk's men's soccer program and arguably saved the best for last as the he was named CNE Defensive Player of the Year, the first in the Rams' record books. On top of the major award, he scooped up his third all-league honor with a spot on the first team. He made even more history on the regional level with a United Soccer Coaches Region II First-Team selection, another first for a blue-and-gold defender.
The cornerstone of Suffolk's defensive unit over the last four years played in all, but seven games throughout his college career. He was instrumental to the three conference championship contest runs including the 2024 banner campaign, which featured the program's second-ever berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Along the way, the Rams received votes in the national poll for the first time in history and were staples throughout the regional rankings throughout Belluardo's career. In 75 games played, 71 starts, he contributed 31 points on 13 goals, including seven game winners, and five assists.