STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern men's soccer junior defender Emil Laursen is the first Academic All-American in program history, with the release of the 2017 CoSIDA Division I Men's and Women's Soccer Academic All-American teams today by the organization.

Laursen earned first-team honors for carrying a perfect 4.0 GPA in Finance. The Silkeborg, Denmark, native is just the sixth Georgia Southern student-athlete to earn first-team Academic All-American honors from CoSIDA and overall, he is the 17th honoree in the department's history and adds the honor to his bevy of career academic and playing honors as an Eagle, including two-time Sun Belt Conference Academic Commissioner's List honors and 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District accolades.

To qualify for Academic All-American honors, student-athletes must carry at least a 3.30 GPA and have one year in residence at their institution. Twenty-six of the 34 members of the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division I men's soccer teams have at least a 3.90 GPA, with 15 student-athletes - including Laursen - sporting a perfect 4.0 GPA. The 11 members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.91.

"We couldn't be more proud of Emil for this latest honor," Georgia Southern Head Men's Soccer Coach John Murphy said. "He has made a full commitment to our student-athlete demands since his arrival at Georgia Southern, and he is earning the rewards for those efforts. Emil represents everything that we want from our team members both on and off the field."

Click here to view the complete 2017 CoSIDA Division I Soccer Academic All-American teams.

Laursen will return in 2018 with seven fellow starters and 24 players overall from this season's squad that went 9-8-1, the first winning season for Georgia Southern men's soccer since 2006.