William Pyle

Classroom

William Pyle has been a standout in the class room since he arrived on campus, posting a cumulative GPA of 3.519. He was named CoSIDA Academic All-District 4 in 2016 and has been a two-time member of the C-USA and SEC Academic honor rolls. He helped Gamecock men’s soccer to the highest team GPA in C-USA in 2016, and the team has earned NSCAA Team Academic Awards every year Pyle has been in Columbia.

Character

“William Pyle is an individual of great character and integrity. You can always count on Will to do the right thing in every situation he’s faced with. He is a leader both on the field and off the field for us and has been since the day he stepped on campus.” - South Carolina Head Coach Mark Berson

Community

Throughout his time as a South Carolina Gamecock, Pyle has put it countless hours in the community. Pyle worked with Street Soccer USA, which helps homeless men, women and youth get off the street through sports. He’s also been involved with numerous Habitat for Humanity projects.

Gamecock men’s soccer has long been partnered with Harvest Hope Food Bank and regularly volunteers its time there throughout the year. Pyle and his teammates were instrumental in flood relief efforts in 2015 in Columbia, packing thousands of care packages for victims of the flooding.

Pyle has served as a mentor and coach at various camps as the team hosts a youth C.A.P.S. Clinic with Children’s Chance every year and a youth camp at Fort Jackson. He also volunteered at a soccer camp for refugee kids in Charlotte’s inner city, which is his hometown.

Competition

Pyle has been a three-year starter in goal for the Gamecocks (2015-17) and has been instrumental in back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances (2015-16). As of nomination time, Pyle had started 38 of the 39 games he’d appeared in at South Carolina, racking up 162 saves (.802 save percentage), 10 shutouts and a career goals against average of 1.02. He tallied double-digit wins his first two seasons and has posted a 23-13-2 record in the net. The Charlotte, N.C., native, earned third-team All-Conference USA honors in 2016 after going 11-6-1 as a starter. Pyle posted a 0.98 goals-against average and made 68 saves in his second season as a starter. As a sophomore in 2015, he became the first Gamecock starting keeper to post a goals-against average under 1.00 (finished at 0.96) since Jimmy Maurer in 2008. He went 9-6-1 his first full season in the net and made 76 saves.

Pyle also became the first goalie in program history since All-American Charlie Arndt (1987-88) to post back-to-back seasons with a goals-against average below 1.