NEW ORLEANS – West Virginia forward Sergio Ors Navarro has been named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year to headline the league’s 2024 all-conference teams and awards following a vote by the league’s 10 head coaches.
Ors Navarro is the first West Virginia player to earn player of the year and offensive player of the year honors. He closed the regular season with a league leading 28 points and tied for most goals with 12. The graduate student played a key role in the Mountaineers taking home its first Sun Belt regular season title in program history.
Luka Nikolai has been an anchor for the James Madison backline this season while also producing offensive efforts. Nikolai has been able to lead a backline that has produced eight shutouts this season, which ranks second in the Sun Belt. The defense also ranks second in goals allowed (14), goals against average (.824) and shutouts per game (.471) in the league. Offensively, Nikolai contributed four goals and two assists for a total of 10 points, he is one of two defenders to tally 10 points. The four goals are the most by a defender in the league
Sebastian Conlon has been one of the top netminders in the league this season. The junior ranks first in save percentage (.791) and minutes played (1507), tied for first in solo shutouts (7), second in goals against average (.836), tied for second in saves (53) and second in shutouts per game (.412). Conlon earned Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week once this season. The junior is one of three keepers this season to record double-digit saves in a single game this season.
In his first year in the Sun Belt, Holmes tops the team in many offensive categories. The sophomore is second in the conference in both shots (50) and shots on goal (25). His 10 goals this season alone is tied for second in the Sun Belt and is one of four players to have recorded a hat trick this season when he did so against North Florida earlier this season. Holmes also has two assists to put his point total at 22 for the season, which leads the team and is fifth in the Sun Belt. Holmes is one of the major reasons for helping the Eagles secure its first postseason appearance since 2020 and its most goals since 2018.
Sarajian has had an impactful first season in Statesboro. The freshman is tied for third in assists with six this year and is tied for eighth in the Sun Belt with 14 points on the season, the most by a freshman in Georgia Southern history. Sarajian is tied for second on the team with four goals and has taken 16 shots this year with an even eight of them on target. Sarajian has started in all but one match for the season and appeared in all of them.
Stratford led the Mountaineers to the Sun Belt Regular Season title for the first time in program history. The Mountaineers finished 10-1-6 and were unbeaten in Sun Belt play at 5-0-4. Their ten wins were the most in the Sun Belt this season. The Mountaineers closed out the regular season unbeaten in five consecutive matches.
West Virginia led the way with five all-conference team selections, including three first-team selections and two on the second team. Kentucky was next with four honorees, followed by South Carolina, Marshall and James Madison with three each. UCF, Georgia Southern both had two selections a piece.
Nikolai and UCF forward Lucca Dourado earned All-Sun Belt First Team honors for the second consecutive season. West Virginia’s Marcus Calreira, Marshall’s Taimu Okiyoshi, James Madison’s Kevin Larsson and UCF’s Anderson Rosa collected All-Sun Belt recognition for the second time in their careers.
The
2024 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship kicks off November 10 – 17.
2024 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Soccer Awards
Player of the Year
Sergio Ors Navarro, West Virginia
Offensive Player of the Year
Sergio Ors Navarro, West Virginia
Defensive Player of the Year
Luca Nikolai, James Madison
Goalkeeper of the Year
Sebastian Conlon, James Madison
Newcomer of the Year
Ryan Holmes, Georgia Southern
Freshman of the Year
Harvey Sarajian, Georgia Southern
Coach of the Year
Daniel Stratford, West Virginia
All-Sun Belt Conference First Team
Logan Dorsey, F, Kentucky
Lucca Dourado, F, UCF
Sergio Ors Navarro, F, West Virginia
Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos, F, Marshall
Ryan Baer, M, West Virginia
Taimu Okiyoshi, M, Marshall
Harvey Sarajian, M, Georiga Southern
Max Broughton, D, West Virginia
Luca Nikolai, D, James Madison
Anderson Rosa, D, UCF
Sebastian Conlon, GK, James Madison
All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team
Ethan Ballek, F, South Carolina
Marcus Caldeira, F, West Virginia
Ryan Holmes, F, Georiga Southern
Harrison Myring, F, South Carolina
Kevin Larsson, M, James Madison
Agustin Lopez, M, Kentucky
Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez, M, South Carolina
Takahiro Fujita, D, Marshall
Josh Gordon, D, Kentucky
Muir Marqes, D, Kentucky
Marc Bonnaire, GK, West Virginia