Tyler Smith is one of three players on Top Drawer Soccer's preseason Pac-12 top-20 list.

Aug. 24, 2012

SAN DIEGO - San Diego State men's soccer player Jose Altamirano leads a group of three Aztecs tabbed by Top Drawer Soccer in its list of top Division I student-athletes.

Altamirano, a San Diego native, is ranked No. 91 in Top Drawer Soccer's preseason national top-100 list. The midfielder is making his second consecutive appearance on the preseason list after completing a 2011 campaign in which he totaled nine points after scoring three goals and assisting on three others.

Top Drawer Soccer also compiled a Pac-12 Conference preseason top-20 list that includes Altamirano and teammates Tyler Smith and Tyrone Martin. Altamirano is sixth in the rankings, while Smith and Martin find themselves at Nos. 16 and 19, respectively.

Smith, a sophomore midfielder from Huntington Beach, Calif., is coming off a freshman campaign that saw him score four goals and tally an assist to match Altamirano's nine points. Martin, meanwhile, redshirted last season, but earned Top Drawer Soccer all-rookie second-team accolades in 2010 after starting all 14 games in which he appeared before an injury sidelined him.

The Aztecs are in the midst of their preseason training in preparation for their season opener on Friday, Aug. 31, when it faces Notre Dame in the first game of The adidas/IU Credit Union Classic in Bloomington, Ind. Game time is set for 5 p.m. ET. The Aztecs will then face No. 9/12 (Soccer America/NSCAA) Indiana on Sunday, Sept. 2, at 2 p.m. ET before returning home.

Following the season-opening road trip, San Diego State will play host to the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Soccer Tournament. The Aztecs will welcome Houston Baptist to America's Finest City on Friday, Sept. 7, in the first-ever men's game played under the lights at Montezuma Road. First tap for "Light the Night" is slated for 7 p.m. PT. At halftime of the HBU-SDSU game, the program will also honor the 1987 team that advanced to the NCAA title game. The tournament wraps up on Sunday, Sept. 9, when SDSU and Ohio State take the pitch at 1 p.m. PT, before HBU and San Diego clash at 5 p.m. PT. Admission to all home games is free.