By: Donnie Smith, NAIA Media Coordinator
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the 2016 NAIA Men’s Soccer All-America teams on Tuesday. The NAIA All-America committee consists of the NAIA-Men’s Soccer Coaches Association Executive Committee, the National Championship Games Committee and four men’s soccer coaches—selected based on geography. Each team—first, second and third—consists of 11 members.
Hastings (Neb.) sophomore forward Daniel Whitehall (pictured) was honored as the 2016 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Player of the Year. The Warrington, England, native led the NAIA in total goals with 34, and was tops in total points with 77. Whitehall was also named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player in the NAIA National Championship in Delray Beach, Fla., helping his team secure the championship for the second time in program history. The Broncos defeated 2015 national champion Rio Grande (Ohio) by a 1-0 count on Dec. 3.
Whitehall is the first player from Hastings to earn the honor since Derek Prinz in 2011.
Northwestern Ohio and Rio Grande each landed three players on the first team. Oklahoma Wesleyan was the leader in total selections, placing two on the first team and two on the third team. There were a total of 14 repeat selections from last year’s lists.
Aleksi Pahkasalo of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) earned his second All-America honor, giving the Blue Raiders a record 69 selections. Rio Grande has now moved into second with 47 selections.
The 2016 Select Sport America-NAIA National Coach of the Year will be announced at the National Soccer Coaches’ Association of America (NSCAA) National Convention, held in Los Angeles, Calif., from Jan. 11-15, 2017.
| FIRST TEAM |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Sam Blackman |
Grand View (Iowa) |
Sr. |
M |
Dartford, England |
| Daniel Whitehall*$ |
Hastings (Neb.) |
So. |
F |
Warrington, England |
| Eduardo Heringer$ |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
Sr. |
M |
Rio de Janiero, Brazil |
| Michael Gonzalo^ |
Northwestern Ohio |
Sr. |
D |
Bristol, England |
| Nikola Kahvedzic |
Northwestern Ohio |
So. |
GK |
Belgrade, Serbia |
| Sean Latimer |
Northwestern Ohio |
Sr. |
F |
London, England |
| Fernando Machado& |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
Sr. |
D |
Sao Paulo, Brazil |
| Perica Obradovic |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
Sr. |
M |
Smederevo, Serbia |
| Heitor de Melo |
Rio Grande (Ohio) |
Sr. |
D |
Sao Paulo, Brazil |
| Jorge Guinovart |
Rio Grande (Ohio) |
Jr. |
M |
Barcelona, Spain |
| Pau Delgado Rodriguez |
Rio Grande (Ohio) |
Sr. |
F |
Barcelona, Spain |
|
|
|
|
|
| SECOND TEAM |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Spencer Atkin |
Baker (Kan.) |
Sr. |
D |
Olathe, Kan. |
| Steeve Pouna |
Baker (Kan.) |
So. |
M |
Doulaa, Cameroon |
| Leonardo Contreras@ |
Biola (Calif.) |
Sr. |
F |
Santa Ana, Calif. |
| Rafael Mentzingen |
Bryan (Tenn.) |
So. |
M |
Rio de Janiero, Brazil |
| Joe White |
Hastings (Neb.) |
Jr. |
GK |
London, England |
| Aleksi Pahkasalo@ |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
Sr. |
M |
Vantaa, Finland |
| Dominic Harrington |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
Jr. |
F |
St. Joseph, Trinidad & Tobago |
| Frantzly Zephirin |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
Sr. |
D |
Montreal, Quebec |
| Jarrod Ingram |
Thomas (Ga.) |
Jr. |
F |
Tallahassee, Fla. |
| Luke Hitchman$ |
Union (Ky.) |
Jr. |
M |
Abergavenny, Wales |
| Genaro Hurtado-Salinas |
Westmont (Calif.) |
Sr. |
D |
Carpinteria, Calif. |
|
|
|
|
|
| THIRD TEAM |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Year |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Timur Zhividze |
Corban (Ore.) |
Jr. |
F |
Vancouver, Wash. |
| Jake Love^ |
Davenport (Mich.) |
Sr. |
F |
Hudsonville, Mich. |
| Bruno Henrique |
Grand View (Iowa) |
So. |
F |
Sao Paulo, Brazil |
| Marc Tautz |
Hastings (Neb.) |
Jr. |
M |
Limburg, Germany |
| Diego Menendez |
Keiser (Fla.) |
Jr. |
D |
Munster, Germany |
| Enrique Amador |
Marymount California |
Jr. |
M |
Barcelona, Spain |
| Ali Sodal |
Midland (Neb.) |
Sr. |
F |
Omaha, Neb. |
| Nikola Fimic |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
Fr. |
D |
Novi Sad, Serbia |
| Luka Stojanovic |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
Sr. |
GK |
Belgrade, Serbia |
| Prince Idornigie |
WVU Tech (W.Va.) |
Sr. |
M |
Durham, N.C. |
| Matt Redgrave |
William Carey (Miss.) |
Jr. |
D |
England |
HONORABLE MENTION
Name School
Robert Smith - Bellevue (Neb.)
Lukas Musong - Bethel (Ind.)
Charlie Clarke - Bryan (Tenn.)
Jordan Dunstan - Bryan (Tenn.)
Ignacio Mangada - Campbellsville (Ky.)
Matija Ceraj@ - Columbia (Mo.)
Alex Vrzovski - Concordia (Mich.)
TJ Ifaturoti& - Davenport (Mich.)
Jordan Zimmerman - Evergreen (Wash.)
Lewis Sharpe - Georgie Gwinnett
Samuel Sampaio Gomes - Georgia Gwinnett
Claudio Rivadeneira - Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.)
Thales Serra - Hope International (Calif.)
Kelvin Omondi - John Brown (Ark.)
Amine Meski - Keiser (Fla.)
Reece Weldon - Keiser (Fla.)
Alexandre Taiar - Oklahoma City
Alexander Simovic - Oklahoma Wesleyan
Blake Van Bruggen - Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
Matheus Guimaraes - Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
Jurren van der Gun - Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
Andrew Revanales - Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
Carlos Monterrey - Northwestern Ohio
Tim Kloster - Park (Mo.)
Benjamin Martinez& - Rio Grande (Ohio)
Eddie Cass - Rocky Mountain (Mont.)
Pedro Ivo Dias$ - Southeastern (Fla.)
Michael Caccavo - Spring Arbor (Mich.)
OT Bah - Tennessee Wesleyan
Confidence Ogo - Texas College
Humphrey Mahowa$ - The Masters (Calif.)
Severin Abt - Thomas (Ga.)
Joao Costa - Truett McConnell (Ga.)
Juan Arellano^ - Vanguard (Calif.)
Ignacio Tellechea - WVU Tech (W.Va.)
Hunter Moles - WVU Tech (W.Va.)
Joaquin Cabello - William Carey (Miss.)
Grant Adam - William Carey (Miss.)
Rodrigo Alves - William Woods (Mo.)
* denotes NAIA Player of the Year
& denotes 1st team selection in 2015
^denotes 2nd team selection in 2015
$ denotes honorable mention selection in 2015
@ denotes 3rd team selection in 2015