NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference’s 2024 men’s soccer season was once again full of achievements that extended well into postseason competition and awards season.
Marshall (15-2-7) made its way back to the NCAA Men’s Soccer College Cup Final. Ranked as the No. 13 seed, the Herd earned a first round bye before shutting out Furman (4-0), taking down NC State (2-1), defeating 12-seeded SMU (3-2) and battling top-seeded Ohio State (1-0) to earn a spot in the title match. Despite losing to Vermont in the title game, it was Marshall’s second time in four years reaching the title match. Forward Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos had a dominant tournament run, scoring five goals and averaging 4.0 points per game. He finished the season tied for most goals in the league (15) and recorded the most points (35).
West Virginia (13-2-7) won its first ever Sun Belt regular season title and the tournament title. The Mountaineers took down Marshall in penalty kicks to secure the title and earn the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. The Mountaineers were led by one of the best forwards in the country, Sergio Ors Navarro, who led the Sun Belt in goals (14) and total points (32) to finish the regular season. The forward finished with 15 goals and 34 points on the year.
Three Sun Belt standouts that were named semifinalists for the 2024 MAC Hermann Trophy, Ors Navarro of West Virginia and Rodrigues dos Santos and Taimu Okiyoshi of Marshall.
Ors Navarro, Rodrigues dos Santos and Okiyoshi also all earned All-American honors, along with defender Mac Broughton of West Virginia. Ors Navarro and Rodrigues dos Santos were named All-American First Team, while Okiyoshi and Broughton were named All-American Second Team.
15 Sun Belt men’s soccer players were named All-Southeast Region by the United Soccer Coaches. Six of the Sun Belt’s 10 programs are represented on the list with West Virginia and Marshall having five selections each, James Madison with two while South Carolina, Kentucky and Georgia Southern each had one.
West Virginia led the way with five All-Sun Belt team selections, including three first-team members and two more on the second team. They also had the player of the year and offensive player of the year in Ors Navarro, as well as the coach of the year, Daniel Stratford. Kentucky was next with four honorees, followed by Marshall, South Carolina and James Madison with three each, while UCF and Georgia Southern both had two selections.
Luca Nikolai of James Madison 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.
Academically, West Virginia’s Marcus Caldeira headlined a group of five Sun Belt men’s soccer student-athletes named to the 2024 Academic All-America teams. West Virginia’s Max Broughton, Ryan Baer were named to the Academic All-America® first team along with Caldeira. South Carolina’s Ethan Ballek was a second team honoree, while Kentucky’s Logan Dorsey was named to the Academic All-America® third team.
Seven Sun Belt men’s soccer players were selected in the 2025 Major League Soccer SuperDraft, tying the most selections in a draft in conference history. West Virginia’s Baer was the highest selection in the Sun Belt at 28th overall. Marshall led the league with three selections total, South Carolina had two of their own selected and Kentucky one.
2024 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Men’s All-Americans
First Team
F | Sergio Ors Navarro | Gr. | West Virginia | Castellon, Spain
F | Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos | Sr. | Marshall | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Second Team
D | Max Broughton | 5th Yr. | West Virginia | Rawtenstall, England
M | Taimu Okiyoshi | Jr. | Marshall | Kobe, Japan
2024 MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalists
F | Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos | Sr. | Marshall | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
F | Sergio Ors Navarro | Gr. | West Virginia | Castellon, Spain
M | Taimu Okiyoshi | Jr. | Marshall | Kobe, Japan
2024 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Men’s All-Southeast Region
First Team
K | Sebastian Conlon | Jr. | James Madison | Reston, Va.
D | Max Broughton | 5th Yr. | West Virginia | Rawtenstall, England
D | Luca Nikolai | So. | James Madison | Kaarst, Germany
M | Ryan Baer | 5th Yr. | West Virginia | Huntersville, N.C.
M | Taimu Okiyoshi | Sr. | Marshall | Kobe, Japan
F | Sergio Ors Navarro | Gr. | West Virginia | Castellon, Spain
F | Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos | Sr. | Marshall | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Second Team
K | Marc Bonnaire | Sr. | West Virgnia | Warrenton, Va.
D | Rai Pinto | Jr. | Marshall | Porto, Portugal
M | Harvey Sarajian | Fr. | Georgia Southern | Naples, Fla.
M | Alex Stjerngaard | Jr. | Marshall | Rungsted Kyst, Denmark
F | Ethan Ballek | Jr. | South Carolina | Timnath, Colo.
F | Marcus Caldeira | Jr | West Virginia | Mississauga, Ont.
F | Logan Dorsey | Sr. | Kentucky | Evergreen, Colo.
D | Takahiro Fujita | So. | Marshall | Nara, Japan
2024 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Men’s Scholar All-American
First Team
D | Max Broughton | 5th Yr. | West Virginia | Rawtenstall, England
F | Sergio Ors Navarro | Gr. | West Virginia | Castellon, Spain*
*National Scholar Player of the Year
Second Team
M | Ryan Baer | 5th Yr. | West Virginia | Huntersville, N.C.
F | Marcus Caldeira | Jr | West Virginia | Mississauga, Ont.
F | Logan Dorsey | Sr. | Kentucky | Evergreen, Colo.
2024 CSC NCAA Division I Men’s Academic All-Americans
First Team
D | Max Broughton | 5th Yr. | West Virginia | Rawtenstall, England
M | Ryan Baer | 5th Yr. | West Virginia | Huntersville, N.C.
F | Marcus Caldeira | Jr | West Virginia | Mississauga, Ont.
Second Team
F | Ethan Ballek | Jr. | South Carolina | Timnath, Colo.
Third Team
F | Logan Dorsey | Sr. | Kentucky | Evergreen, Colo.
2025 MLS SuperDraft
M | Ryan Baer | West Virginia - Round 1, Pick 28 - Seattle Sounders FC
F | Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos | Marshall - Round 1, Pick 29 - Real Salt Lake
F | Logan Dorsey | Kentucky - Round 2, Pick 55 - Minnesota United
F | Ethan Ballek | South Carolina - Round 3, Pick 66 - Nashville Sound
D | Jonah Biggar | South Carolina - Round 3, Pick 70 - D.C. United
D | Takahiro Fujita | Marshall - Round 3, Pick 87 - Orlando City
D | Aleksandar Vukovic | Marshall - Round 3, Pick 89 - Real Salt Lake