BILLINGS, Mont. – After leading the NCAA Division II west region in total goals with 16 and points with 34 this season, Montana State University Billings sophomore forward Ricardo Palomino has been picked as a first-team all-region selection by the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) announced Monday.
 
"We are very excited for Ricardo to keep raking the awards in," commented MSUB head coach Alex Balog. "We haven't had an all-region honoree since 2012 and we hope he can push for becoming an All-American. That being said, without the team, Ricardo would never have gotten these well-deserved awards. Part of the credit also goes out to the whole MSUB men's soccer program."
 
In his first season with the Yellowjackets, Palomino took the Great Northwest Athletic Conference by storm and recorded six multi-goal games and two hat tricks among his league-best scoring total. He was selected as the GNAC co-Newcomer of the Year, and was a unanimous first-team all-conference pick.
 
Palomino tied an MSUB single-game record for goals and points as he scored four times in a 5-1 win over South Dakota School of Mines on Sept. 13. The big effort earned him the first of two GNAC Player of the Week honors during the fall season.
 
The other recognition from the conference came after a heroic hat trick at home against Concordia University (Ore.) on Oct. 17. With the Yellowjackets trailing 2-0 at halftime, Palomino found the net three times in the second half to lift MSUB to an improbable 3-2 victory. He was also named the HERO Sports Division 2 National Hero of the Week after his second hat trick of the year.
 
Palomino added a pair of assists to his 16 goals to reach his GNAC and west-region best point total of 34. He placed 45 percent of his shots on target (27 of 60), and five of his goals counted as game-winners which also led the GNAC.
 
Overall Palomino totaled 1,338 minutes in 17 matches in his first season with MSUB. Through Nov. 30, Palomino's goal total ranked No. 15 in all of Division II and his point total ranked No. 21.

Christian Gonzalez Diaz of Cal Poly Pomona was picked as the west region Player of the Year. Palomino was the only underclassman selected to the first team and one of just three underclassmen to earn all-region honors.
 
He is now eligible for D2CCA All-American honors, as first-team all-region picks from across the NCAA will be considered for the top honor by the organization to be announced next week.