MADISON, Wis. – A successful 2016 season brought the Wisconsin men's soccer team a slew of accolades on Friday, as the Big Ten Conference announced its season-ending awards and a total of seven Badgers earned postseason recognition from the league.

Christopher Mueller headlined UW's honors with his first-team All-Big Ten selection. The junior forward is the first Badger to receive first-team selection since AJ Cochran and Tomislav Zadro earned the honor in 2013. Mueller is just the 19th Badger in program history to land a spot on the conference's first team.

Mueller earned the accolade after leading the team in points (22), goals (6), shots (49), shots on goal (23) and assists (10). Additionally, he ranks second in the nation for total assists.
Juniors Mike Catalano and Mark Segbers, along with sophomore Sam Brotherton, each earned Big Ten honors for the second time in their career, as each was named to this year's All-Big Ten Second Team. The trio becomes Wisconsin's first second-team honorees since 2013. This also marks the first time multiple honorees were selected in a season for UW since 2008.

Brotherton, UW's lone team captain, earned Big Ten honors for the second-consecutive season after he was named to the All-Freshman squad last year. The Auckland, New Zealand, native has been the anchor of the Badgers' backline all season long and he also scored three goals this season.

Catalano and Segbers, both members of the 2014 All-Big Ten Freshman Team, drew second-team honors following extremely successful junior seasons from each. Catalano is having the best year of his career, as he has notched a career-best four goals and two assists so far this season. Segbers is also having a staple season, ranking second on the team in points (11) and assists (5).

Freshmen Elan Koenig and Noah Leibold garnered their first conference honors as Badgers, as both standouts were named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team.

Koenig has been a key member of UW's backline this year and has started all 16 games as a freshman. Leibold has been a vital component to UW's midfield and has also started in all 16 matches this season.

Wisconsin has had at least one honoree on the All-Freshman team every season since 2010.

The Big Ten also recognized 14 Sportsmanship Award honorees, which included UW senior Brian Hail. The students chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. They also must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the competition setting.

After tying for second place in the Big Ten standings, the Badgers earned the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament and host sixth-seeded Ohio State on Sunday. Kickoff is set for noon (CT) at the McClimon Soccer Complex in Madison.