CANTON, Ga. – The Southern Athletic Association (SAA) has announced the 2026 Men’s Soccer All-Conference teams and major award winners ahead of the conference tournament.
In their second season in the SAA, Southwestern swept all major awards. For both seasons now they have captured the Defensive and Coaching Staff of the Year award and have now added Offensive and Rookie to their portfolio with the league.
All-Conference voting and All-Sportsmanship Team selections were conducted by the conference’s nine head coaches.
Offensive Athlete of the Year – Grey Richards | Southwestern | SO | San Antonio, TX
The Pirate sophomore has exploded this season with ten goals and four assists. He leads the league in shots (46), shots on goal (27), tied for first in goals, and is first in game-winning goal (5) and points (24).
Defensive Athlete of the Year – Cooper Pero | Southwestern | SR | Tulsa, OK
Appearing in 17 games this season for Southwestern, Pero has helped the team hold opponents to only nine goals this season. Pero has even scored six himself while dropping an assist earlier this season. The defense only allowed .53 goals per game for opponents in regular season.
Rookie of the Year – Brady Faulkner | Southwestern | FR | Lake Jackson, TX
The freshman forward becomes Southwestern’s first Rookie of the Year honoree with the SAA. He has made an immediate impact, helping the Pirates secure the regular season title. Appearing in 16 matches, he recorded four goals and two assists.
Coaching Staff of the Year – Southwestern
Under the helm of head coach Dustin Norman the pirates have captured their first regular season title with an impressive 15-1-1 overall record and a 7-0-1 conference slate. The team has climbed national rankings each week and currently sits at No.8 in the NCAA NPI rankings.
SAA Men’s Soccer 2026 All-Conference
Coaching Staff of the Year – Southwestern University
Offensive Athlete of the Year – Grey Richards, Southwestern
Defensive Athlete of the Year – Cooper Pero, Southwestern
Rookie of the Year – Brady Faulkner, Southwestern
First Team All-Conference
GK – Cherry Cooper, Berry
D – Cooper Pero, Southwestern
D – Luke Mayfield, Trinity
D – Max Sosa, Rhodes
M – Landon Guenther, Southwestern
M – Brady Faulkner, Southwestern
M – Cade Dougan, Trinity
F – Grey Richards, Southwestern
F – Joey Captain, Berry
F – Thomas McGowan, Sewanee
At Large – Eduardo Parra, Trinity
Second Team All-Conference
GK – Sebastian Lewis, Oglethorpe
D – Chase Johnson, Southwestern
D – Daniel Urquidi, Trinity
D – Connor Gritzmacher, Southwestern
M – Brady Lloyd, Sewanee
M – Vincent Stephens, Rhodes
M – Julian Lopez, Trinity
F – Luke Grant, Rhodes
F – Brady Hammer, Maryville
F – Grayson White, Sewanee
At Large – Ethan Cowdrey, Trinity
Honorable Mention
Berry – Jaxon Champ (D), Aiden Kanclerz (D), Grady Strickland (D), Tyler Whitaker (M)
Maryville – Ben Brophy (F), Tanner Ricks (GK), Ryan Buie (M)
Millsaps – Raul Blandon (M)
Oglethorpe – Eli Beard (D), Rhys Pollard (D), Christian Watson (M), Ethan Martinez (M)
Rhodes – Matthew Sucato (D), Henry McGahey (D), Henri Kettner (GK), Brody Haraway (M),
Sewanee – Edward Kennedy (D), Jonah Cooker (D), Reid Gunzenhauser (GK), Reed Henley (M)
Southwestern – TJ Bass (GK), Danny Wasserman (M), Ross Anderson (M)
Trinity – Alex Baltov (D), Hodge MacDonald (F), Jayden Schell (GK), Finnegan Saunders (M), Thomas Kay (M)
All-Sportsmanship Team
Berry – Aiden Kanclerz
Centre – Daniel Vehovsky
Maryville – Andrew Moore
Millsaps – Alden Romano
Oglethorpe – Rhys Pollard
Rhodes – Ben Novello
Sewanee – Eli Bastiaansen
Southwestern – Quinn MacLeod
Trinity – Eduardo Parra
| All-Time Major Award Winners |
|
Offensive Athlete of the Year |
Defensive Athlete of the Year |
Rookie of the Year |
Coaching Staff of the Year |
| 2025 |
Adam Knutson, Trinity |
Raghav Sharma, Southwestern |
Max Salinas, Trinity |
Trinity/Southwestern |
| 2024 |
Adrian Levy, Oglethorpe |
Daniel Amah, Oglethorpe |
Matthew Sucato, Rhodes |
Matt Lamb, Rhodes |
| 2023 |
Ben Alram, Oglethorpe |
Eli Pilcher, Rhodes |
John Palomino, Centre |
Jon Akin, Oglethorpe |
| 2022 |
Coleman Jennings, BSC |
Mitchell Fenton, Rhodes |
Tyler Scott, Sewanee |
Matt Lamb, Rhodes |
| 2021 |
Coleman Jennings, BSC |
Hayden Binfield, Oglethorpe |
Hayden Binfield, Oglethorpe |
Jon Akin, Oglethorpe |
| 2020-21 |
Coleman Jennings, BSC |
Josh Pruett, Berry |
Tracey Moon, Berry |
Greg Vinson, BSC |
| 2019 |
Jake Williamson, Berry |
Christian Waegellin, Oglethorpe |
Coleman Jennings, BSC |
Tony Pacella, Sewanee |
| 2018 |
Alexander Garuba, Centre |
Galen Curry, BSC |
Angel Guevara, Oglethorpe |
Jon Akin, Oglethorpe |
| 2017 |
Topher Marshall, Oglethorpe |
Jordan Locke, Oglethorpe |
Royce Pope, Centre |
Jon Akin, Oglethorpe |
| 2016 |
Topher Marshall, Oglethorpe |
Micah Akin, Oglethorpe |
Tore Schutt, Millsaps |
Jon Akin, Oglethorpe |
| 2015 |
Nico Roth, Millsaps |
Vaughn Moore, Oglethorpe |
Topher Marshall, Oglethorpe |
Jon Akin, Oglethorpe |
| 2014 |
Bastian Jedliczka, BSC |
Jeremy Carlson, Centre |
Bastian Jedliczka, BSC |
Richard Vardy, Berry |
| 2013 |
Nick Williamson, Oglethorpe |
Nikos Papanikolopoulos, Oglethorpe |
Nico Roth, Millsaps |
Jon Akin, Oglethorpe |
| 2012 |
Ryan Garvey, Centre |
Leo Gutierrez, Berry |
Johannes Loeffler, BSC |
Richard Vardy, Berry |
For more information on all things SAA, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the SAA's home on the internet at
www.saa-sports.com. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Southern Athletic Association news by following @SAA_Sports on Twitter (X) and @SAA_Sports on Instagram.