Members of WVU Men’s Soccer picked up some individual hardware ahead of the 2026 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Tournament.
Three total awards were won, including:
Goalkeeper of the Year: Toby Mawer
Newcomer of the Year: Kanta Ishii
Coach of the Year: Dan Stratford
These awards were announced Friday.
Overall, WVU lived up to its potential this season as the team projected to finish in the best standing in the Sun Belt Conference. It claimed the 2026 SBC Men’s Soccer Regular Season championship with Marshall and the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Read more: Toby Mawer, Kanta Ishii, and Dan Stratford earn SBC Men’s Soccer awards
Related: No. 9 WVU Men’s Soccer shuts out JMU to become 2026 SBC Regular Season Champions
The awards
Dan Stratford
Head coach Dan Stratford’s Coach of the Year award is his second in his time in the conference with WVU.
Stratford first won the award in 2024 when he led the Mountaineers to a 13-2-7 overall record and 5-0-4 conference record. The Mountaineers also had the No. 1 seed in the tournament that season and won the Sun Belt Championship.
This season, Stratford led the Mountaineers to a 10-2-4 overall record and 6-1-2 conference record to claim his second Coach of the Year award.
Stratford is in his seventh season as WVU Men’s Soccer’s head coach. Under him, WVU has hosted SBC Tournament games in Morgantown for three straight seasons.
Toby Mawer
Goalkeeper Toby Mawer earns his first SBC Goalkeeper of the Year honor following a season where he made 14 starts and only allowed seven goals.
Mawer had an impressive run at the end of the season, not allowing a single goal through the final six games. He also had 35 saves.
This season was Mawer’s first full season as the No. 1 option at the position. He made his debut this past season in the NCAA Tournament against High Point.
Mawer joined the Mountaineers in 2024 from Bath, England. He is currently a redshirt sophomore.
Kanta Ishii
Midfielder Kanta Ishii joined the Mountaineers this season from the JUCO level. He spent 2024 and 2025 with Cowley College in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC).
At Cowley College, Ishii was a two-time KJCCC Offensive Player of the Year and two-time First Team NJCAA Division I All-American.
With WVU, Ishii collected five assists and played 15 games with 14 starts to earn his Newcomer of the Year honor.
Ishii is a junior from Tokyo, Japan, who has played club-level soccer in Germany.
Other SBC Men’s Soccer Awards
Player of the Year: Drew Hansen (UCF)
Offensive Player of the Year: Broden Beorlegui (Georgia Southern)
Defensive Player of the Year: Mika Habel (South Carolina)
Freshman of the Year: Broden Beorlegui (Georgia Southern)
Coming up
After a successful regular season finishing as the No. 9 nationally ranked team, the Mountaineers set its sights on earning its second Sun Belt Conference championship.
No. 1 WVU will face No. 8 Georgia Southern in the opening round of the SBC Tournament at 3 p.m. on Sunday. The Mountaineers will serve as host from Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown.
Additionally, No. 4 JMU and No. 5 Coastal Carolina will also play their opening round game in Morgantown at 7 p.m. on Sunday.
The winners of both games will compete in the semifinals in Morgantown at 7 p.m. on November 11.
Huntington, West Virginia, is the second site for SBC Tournament games, with No. 2 Marshall serving as host to No. 3 UCF, No. 6 South Carolina, and No. 7 Kentucky.
The championship site will be announced when the final two teams are determined. If WVU makes it to the championship, it is guaranteed to host the game on November 15 at 1 p.m.
The NCAA Tournament begins November 19. If WVU qualifies, it will be its fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show is set for November 16.
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