Robbie Mertz

Classroom

Robbie Mertz is enrolled in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, majoring in business administration. He was an Academic All-Big Ten selection last season.

Character

Mertz is the heart and soul of the Michigan soccer team, serving as one of the team’s co-captains for the second consecutive year. He shares the captain’s armband for each game with fellow co-captain and senior Ivo Cerda. Though not the biggest player at 5-foot-7, he is an extension of the coaching staff on the field and has displayed the leadership traits necessary to earn the trust of not only the coaching staff, but also his teammates.

Community

Mertz is heavily involved in community service. Last spring, he and several Michigan student-athletes from other teams went to Vietnam as part of the Let’s Go Do program. While there, he visited a Buddhist monastery for victims of HIV and a center for children who have birth defects as a result of Agent Orange.

Mertz also has spearheaded efforts to engage and welcome Team IMPACT teammate Aiden Hansen. Among the activities, Mertz and teammates went with Aiden to a car show in Detroit and spent time with him at a county fair.

Through Athletes in Action, Mertz has volunteered with Mack Avenue Community Church in Detroit, initiating a local soccer league and assisting in home improvement projects.

Competition

Mertz is a three-year starter for Michigan, playing in 68 career matches (47 starts) throughout October 16. He has tallied 28 career points, scoring nine goals and recording 10 assists. Mertz has started every match this season (13/13), scoring two goals with two assists.

During Michigan’s Big Ten championship run in 2017, Mertz scored three goals and had four assists while leading the team in minutes played (1,755). He was an All-Big Ten (second team) selection and was also named an All-American by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).