A total of nine Tar Heels were selected to the USILA Men’s All-American teams on Thursday, just two days before the team begins play in the NCAA Final Four against Virginia.

The selections are highlighted by First Team choices Chris Gray — the ACC Offensive Player of the Year — and junior defender Will Bowen.

Gray was also named the Jack Turnbull Outstanding Attacker of the Year. The senior broke the UNC all-time single-season scoring record this year with 86 points heading into this weekend (46 goals and 40 assists), and has been the driving force behind the Tar Heels’ improvement over the last two seasons since transferring from Boston University.

Second Team All-American choices include: senior midfielders Tanner Cook and Justin Anderson, as well as junior short-stick defensive midfielder Connor Maher.

Senior midfielder William Perry represents the lone Tar Heel on the Third Team, while face-off specialist Zac Tucci joins freshman goalie Collin Krieg and sophomore long-stick midfielder Matt Wright as Honorable Mentions.

Notably missing from the All-American choices is junior attacker Nicky Solomon, who ranks tied for second on the team in scoring alongside Perry with 43 points.

This marks the first time since 2015 that UNC has had two USILA First Team All-Americans. That year saw Chad Tutton and Ryan Kilpatrick earn the honor. Gray also becomes the first Tar Heel to ever win the Jack Turnbull Award.

The Tar Heels (13-2) reached the No. 1 ranking for the first time since 2017 this season and earned the top seed for the NCAA Tournament, where wins over Monmouth and Rutgers earned the program its first Final Four appearance since winning it all back in 2016.

Saturday’s National Semifinal against Virginia in Hartford, Connecticut is scheduled to begin at noon on ESPN2. The Tar Heels and Cavaliers split a pair of regular season meetings and will now decide the season series on a neutral field with the stakes obviously much higher.

 

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