UTICA, NY - SUNY Poly men's soccer player Wakeley Banker received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence last week. He was one of two SUNY Poly students to earn the honor and he is the second SUNY Poly student-athlete in as many years to earn the most prestigious student awards in the SUNY system. 

The Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence recognizes students for "outstanding achievements that have demonstrated the integration of SUNY excellence within many aspects of their lives in areas such as academics, leadership, campus involvement, community service, or the arts." It is the highest honor bestowed upon a student by the University. 

Banker has been a stand-out student-athlete for four years at SUNY Poly. Athletically he has been historically great, especially in the last two seasons. In his career at SUNY Poly, he has been a four-time All-Academic Team selection and a three-time All-Conference selection. He has won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Awards and was a USC All-region 2nd Team player in 2021. He has led the Wildcats in goals scored in the last two seasons and led his team to a NAC Championship and an NCAA DIII Championship Tournament in 2021.  

Academically, Wakeley will graduate from SUNY Poly with a Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics. In his time at Poly, he has been a teacher's assistant and has conducted research in the fields of computational modeling, machine learning, and heat transfer. Upon his graduation from SUNY Poly, Banker will begin his career as a Systems Engineer with Lockheed Martin. He plans to continue his education in the field of engineering.