SPARTANBURG, SC – The Southern Conference announced its 2026 Men’s Soccer All-Conference Team and postseason awards Wednesday, with the four major individual awards distributed among three schools.
Furman’s
Wilfer Bustamante was named Player of the Year, UNC Greensboro’s
Seth Wilson was named Goalkeeper of the Year, the Spartans’
Keaviano Francis was named Newcomer of the Year, and Wofford’s
Ryan Osborne was named Coach of the Year.
Bustamante (Greenville, SC) leads the SoCon with 11 goals this season, including two hat tricks in consecutive matches. He earned two SoCon Offensive Player of the Week accolades and was twice named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week. Bustamante enters the SoCon Championship with nine goals and at least one point in five of Furman’s last six matches, including a goal in the Paladins’ 4-1 win over Wofford in the regular-season finale. He is the 16
th Paladin to earn SoCon Player of the Year honors.
Wilson (Frisco, TX) entered the season as one of the veteran stalwarts between the posts in the SoCon and has continued a spectacular career for the Spartans in 2026. He has five clean sheets this season – tied for the most among SoCon keepers – and leads the league in goals-against average (1.00) while ranking third with 43 saves. The 6-foot-5, 185-pound senior enters the postseason with a 23-8-20 career ledger with 141 saves in 51 starts. He boasts a career 0.98 goals-against average.
Francis (East London, South Africa) made a significant impact in his first season at UNCG after transferring in from Marshall. He scored seven goals and added a pair of assists during the regular season in 16 starts as a midfielder. He scored once and assisted on another goal in a 5-0 win over South Florida and had a season-high five points on two goals and an assist in the 4-0 win at VMI. Francis also scored in a win over VCU in the season opener and scored early-season goals in key non-conference draws with West Virginia and Davidson. He later netted his seventh goal of the season in a 1-1 draw at High Point.
Osborne (Wakefield, England) led Wofford to a share of the regular season championship in just his second season in command of the Terriers. It was Wofford’s first regular season trophy since 2013. He is the third Wofford manager to earn SoCon Coach of the Year plaudits, joining
Ralph Polson (2009) and
Joel Tyson (2023). Wofford (8-4-4, 3-1-2 SoCon) equaled its highest overall win total since 2024 and had its best winning percentage in league play since going 3-0-2 against the SoCon in 2023. Osborne’s Terriers rank second in the conference in total points, goals, and assists, and rank third in goals allowed
heading into the postseason.
The Paladins and UNCG each landed seven men on the team, with Furman earning four first-team selections. Wofford was next with six All-SoCon picks, followed by ETSU and Liberty with three each.
The 2026 SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship kicked off Tuesday with a 1-0 win for No. 6 VMI over No. 7 Mercer in Lexington, VA, and continues Thursday at higher-seed host sites. No. 4 ETSU hosts No. 5 Liberty at 3:00 pm ET (ESPN+), and No. 3 UNCG hosts No. 6 VMI at 5:00 pm ET (ESPN+) on November 5.
No. 2 Wofford will host the winner of UNCG/VMI on Sunday, November 8 at 5:00 pm ET (ESPN+) and No. 1 Furman will host the winner of ETSU/Liberty that same night at 7:00 pm ET (ESPN+).
2026 Player of the Year
Wilfer Bustamante (Furman), Junior, Greenville, SC
2026 Newcomer of the Year
Keaviano Francis (UNC Greensboro), Senior, East London, South Africa
2026 Goalkeeper of the Year
Seth Wilson (UNC Greensboro), Redshirt Senior, Frisco, TX
2026 Coach of the Year
Ryan Osborne (Wofford), Head Coach, Wakefield, England
2026 All-SoCon First Team
Forwards
Wilfer Bustamante (Furman), Junior, Greenville, SC
Jaime Carrillo (ETSU), Senior, Amarillo, TX
Gavin Dick (ETSU), Freshman, Stirling, Scotland
Samson Kpardeh (Liberty), Sophomore, Worcester, MA
Midfielders
Luke Hutzell (Furman), Junior, Dacula, GA
Diego Hernandez (Furman), Senior, Mesquite, TX
Keaviano Francis (UNC Greensboro), Senior, East London, South Africa
Javan Ochieng (Liberty), Sophomore, Kisumu, Kenya
Defenders
Braden Dunham (Furman), Sophomore, Peachtree City, GA
Scott Cheevers (Wofford), Redshirt Freshman, Nashville, TN
Trym Linberg (UNC Greensboro), Sophomore, Bærumsverk, Norway
Goalkeeper
Seth Wilson (UNC Greensboro), Redshirt Senior, Frisco, TX
2026 All-SoCon Second Team
Forwards
Ronnie Gorman (Liberty), Freshman, Horsham, England
Fabian Menendez (Wofford), Senior, Greer, SC
Lasse Dahl (UNC Greensboro), Junior, Vildbjerg, Denmark
Pablo Torre (UNC Greensboro), Junior, McAllen, TX
Midfielders
Tiago Campos (UNC Greensboro), Senior, São Paulo, Brazil
Fabian Menendez (Wofford), Senior, Greer, SC
Elliot Edwards (ETSU), Sophomore, Warwick, England
Defenders
Ryan Wagner (Furman), Junior, Leawood, KS
Connor Stout (Furman), Sophomore, Fairfax, VA
Mathis Robinand (UNC Greensboro), Freshman, Rognac, France
Adam Celik (Wofford), Junior, Höllviken, Sweden
Goalkeepers
Aaron Salinas (Furman), Senior, Grand Prairie, TX
Pepe Hinterschuster (Wofford), Junior, Neustrelitz, Germany