Every year, the calendar flipping to August means one thing for soccer fans around the country: The start of a new collegiate soccer season.

This year’s iteration promises to be one of the best in recent memory following two historic NCAA College Cup championships last season, with the Syracuse men winning their first title in program history and the UCLA women storming back from a two-goal deficit to win in overtime.

Two USYS alumni, Creighton’s Duncan McGuire and Duke’s Michelle Cooper, were awarded the highest individual honor at the end of the season, being named recipients of the 2022 Hermann Trophy. McGuire played two seasons in the USYS National League and made trips to the Midwest Regional Championships with his Nebraskan Sporting Omaha side, while Cooper was a mainstay on the USYS Region II Olympic Development Program (ODP) teams and competed at two Thanksgiving Interregional events, having played in Michigan’s program multiple years.

With an eye on the new season ahead, United Soccer Coaches announced the men and women named to their respective 2023 Hermann Trophy Watch Lists. US Youth Soccer was a common theme amongst the 37 men and 56 women revealed, with seven members on the largely international-based men’s list and 29 (52%) on the women’s list.

Headlined by former US Youth Soccer National Championship Best XI recipients Samantha Meza (NTX), Simone Jackson (CA-S), Lexi Missimo (NTX), Reilyn Turner (CA-S), Anna Podojil (OH), Case Cox (KY), Charlie Sharp (MI), and Jamie Shepherd (UT), the following US Youth Soccer alumni were named to the prestigious trophy’s watch list on the eve of the new season.

The Hermann Trophy, which is presented annually by the Missouri Athletic Club, is the nation’s highest individual honor recognizing the National Player of the Year. It is determined by the voting of Division I coaches who are members of United Soccer Coaches. Dov Markus was the first recipient of the men’s MAC Player of the Year Award (its former name, which was changed in 2002) in 1967, while USYS alumna Michelle Akers was the first female recipient in 1988.

2023 USYS Men’s Hermann Trophy Watch List Alumni

Case Cox, Belmont University ~^

Trevor Wright, University of Denver ^

Dyson Clapier, University of Akron *~^

Palmer Ault, Butler University ^

Thad Dewing, United States Air Force Academy ^

Stas Korzeniowski, University of Pennsylvania ^

Charlie Sharp, Western Michigan University ^

2023 USYS Women’s Hermann Trophy Watch List Alumnae
Cal South alumnae in red

Megan Bornkamp, Clemson University *

Eva Gaetino, University of Notre Dame *

Kylie Gazza, Samford University ~

Julia Leas, Georgetown University *

Logan McFadden, Lipscomb University *

Lilly Reale, UCLA *~

Lava Vaka, Brigham Young University ‘

Kennedy Wesley, Stanford University *

Hannah Babar, Harvard University *^

Croix Bethune, University of Georgia *

Megan Boade, Northwestern University *

Lia Godfrey, University of Virginia ^

Taylor Huff, Florida State University *^

Felicia Knox, University of Alabama *

Sam Meza, University of North Carolina ~^

Lexi Missimo, University of Texas ^

Jamie Shepherd, Brigham Young University *~^

Heather Stainbrook, Utah Valley University ~^

Kelli Beiler, Lipscomb University ^

Trinity Byars, University of Texas ^

Itala Gemelli, University of Alabama ~^

Jasmine Green, University of South Alabama ^

Maya Hansen, South Dakota State University ^

Simone Jackson, University of Southern California *^

Caroline Kelly, Saint Louis University *^

Brecken Mozingo, Brigham Young University *~^

Anna Podojil, University of Arkansas *~^

Reilyn Turner, UCLA ^

Kennedy White, Mississippi State University ^

~ – National League
‘ – Presidents Cup
^ – National Championship Series
* – Olympic Development Program

– USYS –