INDIANAPOLIS (December 8, 2023) - Colorado State University Pueblo men's soccer senior midfielder Kenshin Uneo (Hyogo, Japan) was the recipient of the 2023 NCAA Division II Elite 90 Award announced this week by officials.

The ELITE 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 90 championships.

Uneo holds a 4.00 Grade-Point Average and is a Business Management major.

He has been a staple at midfield for three seasons and this season he is one of three players to have played and started in all 25 matches. He has recorded one assist in over 1900 minutes on the pitch.

This season, Uneo was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference First Team All-Academic, earned the RMAC Summit Award which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average (GPA), participating at the finals sites for each of the RMAC championships.

He was named to College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team and earned First Team All-RMAC accolades, along with being named to D2CCA All-South Central Region Second Team.

On Thursday, Uneo and 3-seed ThunderWolves defeated 2-seed Florida Tech 1-0 in overtime and clinched a spot in the National Championship Match on Saturday at Matthews Sportsplex in Matthews, NC. The title game is a rematch of the 2022 Championship game against top seed Franklin Pierce. The Ravens defeated Lewis 3-2 in the second semifinal match.