NEW ORLEANS – South Carolina third-year midfielder Alejandro Velasquez-Lopez and UCF fourth-year defender Takahiro Fujita have earned Sun Belt Conference Men’s Soccer Player of the Week honors following the second week of the 2026 season.
Velasquez-Lopez gives the Gamecocks back-to-back Offensive Player of the Week honorees after teammate Loïc Sany Kong was recognized on Aug. 25. It marks the second year in a row South Carolina has earned back-to-back nods, as Tyler Trimnal and Ethan Ballek accomplished the feat on Sept. 16 and Sept. 23 in 2025.
The 2026 Sun Belt Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, Fujita earns his first Defensive Player of the Week accolade and becomes the first Knight to be honored since Juanvi Munoz on Oct. 21, 2025.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Alejandro Velasquez-Lopez, South Carolina
(3rd Yr. | M | Knoxville, Tenn.)
Velasquez-Lopez registered consecutive multi-point performances for the first time in his career with seven total points on three goals and one assist while leading the Gamecocks to a pair of non-conference wins. In a 4-0 victory over USC Upstate on Aug. 24, Velasquez-Lopez netted a pair of first-half goals and registered five shots. In South Carolina’s 3-2 triumph over 16th-ranked Clemson on Aug. 28, he scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick in the 49th minute after tallying an assist in the 24th minute.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Takahiro Fujita, UCF
(4th Yr. | D | Kawai, Japan)
Fujita anchored UCF’s defensive efforts at center back in the Knights’ 2-0 win over in-state rival South Florida on Aug. 28. Fujita played all 90 minutes, as his leadership guided UCF to its third consecutive shutout, as he also chipped in on the offensive end with the game-winning goal on a header in the 29th minute. The Knights also became one of just six teams nationally to begin the season with three-straight clean sheets.
2026 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Offensive Players of the Week
Week 1 – Loïc Sany Kong, F, South Carolina
Weel 2 - Alejandro Velasquez-Lopez, M, South Carolina
2026 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Defensive Players of the Week
Week 1 – Will Devine, GK, Coastal Carolina
Week 2 - Takahiro Fujita, D, UCF