The USA South Athletic Conference has announced its 2026 All-Conference awards for men's soccer. Individually, William Peace's Roberto Rayo was named Player of the Year while his teammate, Chris Rodriguez, captured Rookie of the Year honors. N.C. Wesleyan's Elliott Helander was named Goalkeeper of the Year while his coach, Mark Bowman, collected Coach of the Year accolades to round out the individual awards. Additionally, the USA South recognized an All-Sportsmanship Team, consisting of one member from each competing school who their coach felt displayed the best sportsmanship this season.

All awards were voted on by the men's soccer coach at each institution.

Rayo, a junior midfielder from Vilinus, Lithuania, becomes the second William Peace men's soccer student-athlete to be named USA South Player of the Year (Jorge Lemus, 2022). Rayo helped control the central part of the pitch for the Pacers while also scoring seven goals and assisting on four others during the regular season. Against USA South opposition-only, Rayo ranked second in the League with five goals to go along with two assists. For his efforts this fall, Rayo earns all-conference honors as a midfielder for the first time in his career. 

Rodriguez, a Wilson, North Carolina freshman midfielder becomes the third William Peace men's soccer student-athlete to be named USA South Rookie of the Year. During the regular season, Rodriguez, along with his teammate Rayo, maintained the midfield. Rodriguez scored seven goals, three of which were game-winners, to go along with three assists. In Conference play, Rodriguez led the League with 13 points on a USA South-best six goals with one assist. For his efforts this fall, Rodriguez grabbed First Team All-Conference accolades at the midfield position while also being named USA South Rookie of the Week twice.

Helander, a Varberg, Sweden sophomore goalkeeper, becomes the first N.C. Wesleyan men's soccer student-athlete to be named USA South Goalkeeper of the Year. Helander played just over 1,110 minutes during the regular season, posting a 6-3-3 record with a 1.06 goals-against-average and a .735 save percentage. Against USA South competition, Helander was 5-0-2 while leading the League with a 0.73 goals-against-average. For his efforts this fall, Helander grabbed all-conference accolades for the first time in his career and collected USA South Defensive Player of the Week once.

Bowman, in his fifth season as N.C. Wesleyan's head coach, earns his third USA South Coach of the Year honor. Picked to finish first by the coaches in the preseason poll, the Battling Bishops did just that in claiming the program's 12th regular season Conference crown with an unbeaten record of 5-0-2. It is the third regular season title in the past five seasons for N.C. Wesleyan and for Bowman. Additionally, it is the eighth time since 1974 that the Battling Bishops have finished the regular season without a Conference loss. Finally, N.C. Wesleyan concluded regular season play with a 7-4-5 overall record.

 

Player of the Year	Rookie of the Year	Goalkeeper of the Year	Coach of the Year
Roberto Rayo William Peace	Chris Rodriguez William Peace	Elliott Helander N.C. Wesleyan	Mark Bowman N.C. Wesleyan