« Men’s Soccer 2017

Jon Bakero

School
Wake Forest
Position
Forward
Major
Communications

Classroom

Jon Bakero has been named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll in three-straight semesters as a communications major. In 2016-17, he was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll, one of just nine members of the team to receive that honor.

Character

One of the team captains, Bakero is a leader on and off the field for the Demon Deacons. “Jon always puts the team first and is one of the most respectful, caring, reliable people you will meet,” Head Coach Bobby Muuss said. “He loves to interact with the youth in the community and is a role model to everyone he comes in contact with.”

Community

Bakero has been very active in the community in his four years. This year, he has taken the lead with Team IMPACT signee Asher McGarrah, who has Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, as part of the organization which improves the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses through the power of team. Bakero spends time with him at practice and outside of sports, going to Asher’s soccer games and taking trips to the movies. Bakero has also been active in Habitat for Humanity, the team’s youth soccer clinics and delivering food to the hungry in the community.

Competition

A four-year starter, Bakero is working his way up in the Wake Forest record books. As of nomination time, he ranks 13th in program history with 24 goals and 15th with 64 points. He has notched 10 game-winning goals in his career, and is a third-team All-ACC honoree (2015), ACC All-Tournament Team honoree (2016) and NCAA College Cup All-Tournament Team honoree (2016). He was rated by TopDrawerSoccer as the No. 44 player in the nation heading into 2017.