NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference today announced the 2026 Men’s Soccer All-Conference Teams and Awards as voted on by the 10 league head coaches. UCF’s Drew Hansen headlines the group as the 2026 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Player of the Year while West Virginia’s Dan Stratford earns his second Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Coach of the Year honor of the last three years.
The awards come ahead of the first matches of the
2026 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship which kicks off on Sunday, Nov. 8, in Huntington and Morgantown, West Virginia, with four quarterfinal matches. The semifinals will be played on Wednesday, Nov. 11, in Huntington and Morgantown as well with the highest remaining seed hosting the conference championship match on Sunday, Nov. 15.
Hansen, a native of Cleveland, North Carolina, enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2026, setting new single-season highs in total goals (12), assists (3), shots (37), shots on goal (23) and game-winning goals (5). In Sun Belt play, he tallied eight goals and two assists, including three braces down the stretch that earned him back-to-back-to-back Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week Awards. He netted the final three matches of the season to secure the No. 3 seed for UCF ahead of the Sun Belt tournament, scoring at least one goal in five of the Knights’ final six matches. Hansen is the first UCF Knight to earn Sun Belt Conference Men’s Soccer Player of the Year honors.
Georgia Southern’s Broden Beorlegui, a first year forward from Bradenton, Florida, is the first Eagle to earn Sun Belt Conference Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Year since Javier Carbonell did so in 2018. Beorlegui led the Eagles with nine goals and 19 points. He also tallied four game-winners and accounted for over 40 percent of the team’s total goals. In the Sun Belt, he ranks third in points, second in goals and first in shots. He earned Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week after his brace against No. 15 Old Dominion.
South Carolina’s Mika Habel earns Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year for the first time in his career. The Regensburg, Germany, native is the first Gamecock to win a superlative postseason award in Sun Belt Conference history. Habel manned the back line for the Gamecocks’ historic season, seeing South Carolina rising to the No. 1 spot in the national polls for the first time in school history. Hable leads the country in assists from a defensive position and posted a four-assist match in Sun Belt play earlier this year. The captain of the Gamecock team also tallied the game-winner in nonconference action over ranked High Point and posted two assists in the Gamecocks’ upset of Clemson.
West Virginia redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Toby Mawer earns Sun Belt Conference Men’s Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year laurels after an incredible breakout season between the posts. The Bath, England, native posted a 10-1-3 record in the net with nine shutouts on the season. In his eight Sun Belt Conference contests, he allowed just two goals and posted six clean sheets. He led the Sun Belt with a .929 save percentage in conference play and held a .833 save percentage overall. Mawer ended the regular season with five-straight shutouts performances and now owns nine clean sheets on the year – second-most in the country. His defensive efforts helped West Virginia claim the No. 1 seed and regular season championship for the second time in the last three seasons.
Kanta Ishii, a junior defender from Tokyo, Japan, earned Newcomer of the Year honors in his first season at West Virginia. In a new role as a defender, he helped a defense that allowed just 0.563 goals per game, which ranked third in Division I. His command of the defensive unit produced 10 shutouts, tying for most in the nation. WVU opponents averaged just 6.93 shots per game and only 3.00 shots on goal per contest. In Sun Belt play, the Mountaineer defense allowed just 0.44 goals per game and enjoyed six shutouts in nine games. On the offensive end, Ishii pitched in five assists, all in conference play. Ishii is the first Mountaineer to garner Newcomer of the Year honors.
After leading his freshman peers with nine goals and 19 total points, Georgia Southern’s Broden Beorlegui added Freshman of the Year honors to his freshman campaign. He is the third Eagle to earn Sun Belt Freshman of the Year honors in as many seasons and fifth overall in league history. He tied third in points (19) and ranked second in goals (9) in the Sun Belt leaderboard. His nine goals also ranked 33rd nationally. His four game-winning goals also led all freshman players in the Sun Belt Conference.
West Virginia’s Dan Stratford secured Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career and second time in the last three seasons. His Mountaineers won the regular season for the second time in his tenure with a 10-2-4 overall record and 6-1-2 mark in Sun Belt play. It marks the second time of the last three seasons the Mountaineers secured a regular season trophy. WVU finished the season on a six-game unbeaten streak and posted 10 shutouts on the season. He enters the postseason hosting at home for the third consecutive season in Morgantown.
Seven different teams were represented on the 2026 Sun Belt All-Conference Teams with West Virginia and UCF leading the way with six selections each. The Knights led the first team with three selections, marking the fourth consecutive year with multiple Knights on the All-Sun Belt First Team. WVU posted two first-team selections and four second teamers, including all three defenders and a midfielder. South Carolina held two first-team selections and three total while Georgia Southern slotted two players onto the first team as well. Marshall had one first team and one second team selection with Old Dominion posting one first teamer and Coastal Carolina one second teamer.
West Virginia’s Pablo Pozos and UCF’s Takahiro Fujita earned First-Team honors for the second time in their careers. Old Dominion’s Lewis Rourke, a 2025 second-team selection, moves up to the All-Sun Belt First Team after leading the Monarch offense.
The 2026 Sun Belt All-Freshman Team represented six different teams in the 11-man selection. Georgia Southern and Marshall each placed three men on the roster with Old Dominion having two. James Madison, Kentucky and South Carolina all had one All-Freshman selection.
2026 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Soccer Awards
Player of the Year
Drew Hansen, UCF (4th Year | F | Cleveland, N.C.)
Offensive Player of the Year
Broden Beorlegui, Georgia Southern (1st Year | F | Bradenton, Fla.)
Defensive Player of the Year
Mika Habel, South Carolina (4th Year | D | Regensburg, Germany)
Goalkeeper of the Year
Toby Mawer, West Virginia (3rd Year | GK | Bath, England)
Newcomer of the Year
Kanta Ishii, West Virginia (3rd Year | D | Tokyo, Japan)
Freshman of the Year
Broden Beorlegui, Georgia Southern (1st Year | F | Bradenton, Fla.)
Coach of the Year
Dan Stratford, West Virginia (seventh season)
All-Sun Belt Conference First Team
F – Broden Beorlegui, Georgia Southern (1st Year | F | Bradenton, Fla.)
F – Drew Hansen, UCF (4th Year | F | Cleveland, N.C.)
F – Pablo Pozos, West Virginia (4th Year | F | Madrid, Spain)
F – Lewis Rourke, Old Dominion (4th Year | F | Nottingham, England)
M – Mitch Pitcksley, Georgia Southern (4th Year | M | Leeds, England)
M – Carl Romberg, Marshall (4th Year | M/F | Werl, North Rhine-Westfalia, Germany)
M – Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez, South Carolina (3rd Year | M | Knoxville, Tenn.)
D – Gwendal Degorce, UCF (3rd Year | D | Lyon, France)
D – Takahiro Fujita, UCF (4th Year | D | Kawai, Japan)
D – Mika Habel, South Carolina (4th Year | D | Regensburg, Germany)
GK – Toby Mawer, West Virginia (3rd Year | GK | Bath, England)
All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team
F – Cristian Ortiz, South Carolina (1st Year | F | Tampa, Fla.)
F – Alex Partera, UCF (1st Year | F | Barcelona, Spain)
F – Ramado Pierre-Louis, Marshall (1st Year | F | Miami, Fla.)
M – Younes Boudinar, UCF (3rd Year | M | Limoges, France)
M – Alberto de Miguel, Coastal Carolina (3rd Year | M | Madrid, Spain)
M – Nikita Pakhomov, Marshall (3rd Year | M | Kursk, Russia)
M – Isaac Scheer, West Virginia (3rd Year | M | Charlotte, N.C.)
D – Civan de Jesus Ferreira, West Virgina (3rd Year | D | Berlin, Germany)
D – Kanta Ishii, West Virginia (3rd Year | D | Tokyo, Japan)
D - Tristan Pusztahegyi, West Virginia (3rd Year | D | Kitchener, Ontario, Canada)
GK – Matisse Hébert, UCF (3rd Year | GK | Saint-Jérôme, Québec, Canada)
Sun Belt Conference All-Freshman Team
F – Broden Beorlegui, Georgia Southern (1st Year | F | Bradenton, Fla.)
F – Costa Iliadis, Kentucky (1st Year | F | Toronto, Canada)
F – Ramado Pierre-Louis, Marshall (1st Year | F | Miami, Fla.)
M – Owen Barker, Georgia Southern (1st Year | M | Leyland, England)
M – Alessandro Maldonado, Old Dominion (2nd Year | M |Woodbridge, Va.)
M – Yoni Perez, South Carolina (1st Year | M | Tenerife, Spain)
D – Noah Dietze, Old Dominion (1st Year | D | Hessen, Germany)
D – Goncalo Machado, Marshall (1st Year | D |Lisbon, Portugal)
D – Ikenna Nnawuchi, James Madison (1st Year | D | Silver Spring, Md.)
GK – Maxim Luca, Georgia Southern (1st Year | GK | Celebration, Fla.)
GK – Yurij Obert, Marshall (1st Year | GK | Frankfurt, Germany)