Kentucky men's soccer sees EIGHT Wildcats earn Sun Belt Conference awards

It’s been a couple of years since Johan Cedergren put together a Kentucky men’s soccer team as talented as this year’s, but the results were well worth the wait. It was announced by the league on Friday that eight different Wildcats received awards from the Sun Belt Conference.

Kentucky dominated the Sun Belt this season, finishing with a 10-2-4 overall record and a 7-1-1 mark against conference foes. That was good enough to lock up the top seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament, which begins at home on Sunday. The ‘Cats clinched the regular-season title on Halloween night thanks to a 1-0 win over Georgia State.

Coach Cedergren, now in year 14 with Kentucky, put together a complete roster this season in Lexington that ended with him being named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, his fifth career Coach of the Year award and second as a member of the SBC. Even more impressive, Cedergren saw seven of his players pick up postseason honors, too.

• Goalkeeper of the Year: Sebastian Conlon
• All-Sun Belt Conference First Team: Agustin Lopez (M), Marqes Muir (D), Sebastian Conlon (GK)
• All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team: Isaiah Chisolm (F), Alex Ruiz (F), Kevin Larsson (M)
• All-Sun Belt Conference Freshman Team: Marcus Anderson (M)

This marked the second straight Goalkeeper of the Year award for Conlon, who also took home the honor in 2024 while at James Madison. He recorded 45 saves and seven clean sheets, allowing just 14 goals against Sun Belt competition this year. Conlon was ranked 60th in the TopDrawerSoccer Midseason Top 100 that came out in mid-October.

For First Teamers Lopez and Muir, this is the second season in a row they’ve made an All-Sun Belt Team after being named to the Second Team in 2024. Chisolm and Ruiz received their first career All-Sun Belt honors as members of the Second Team, while Larsson picked up his second. Anderson was tabbed to the Freshman team after logging 10 starts in 15 appearances for the ‘Cats as a rookie.

Ranked 18th nationally, Kentucky will host the first two rounds of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. First kick against 8-seeded Coastal Carolina on Sunday is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+ at the Bell Soccer Complex.

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