CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The 2025 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Team and season award winners were announced Wednesday following a vote of the league’s 15 head coaches.
NC State scored three of the six ACC season awards, as junior forward Donavan Phillip was voted ACC Offensive Player of the Year, sophomore defender Nikola Markovic earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors and senior Logan Erb claimed Goalkeeper of the Year laurels. Virginia nabbed two awards, as forward Nick Simmonds was named Freshman of the Year, and George Gelnovatch was chosen Coach of the Year. Clemson sophomore Ransford Gyan was selected ACC Midfielder of the Year.
The five student-athlete award winners also earned First-Team All-ACC recognition. NC State led all schools with four first-team picks, as Taig Healy joined three Wolfpack season award honorees. NC State and Virginia led all schools with five All-ACC selections. Stanford senior Zach Bohane was the lone player to repeat this season as a First-Team All-ACC honoree.
Phillip is the first Wolfpack player to earn ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors since Kyle Campbell in 1994. A native of Castries, Saint Lucia, Phillip has scored an ACC-best 15 goals this season, which also is tied for second most among all Division I players. He has totaled 31 points in 17 matches this season and leads the conference in goals, points, shots (62) and shots on goal (33). Four of his goals were game winners.
Markovic is the first NC State player to notch Defensive Player of the Year honors since the award was established in 2004. He anchors the league’s top defense, as the Wolfpack have surrendered just 0.39 goals per game, fewest among league teams and second fewest nationally. NC State has conceded just seven goals, six fewer than any other ACC team this year. In 17 matches this season, the native of Gatineau, Quebec, also has chipped in a pair of goals and two assists.
Named ACC Freshman of the Year last season, Gyan has followed it up with a tremendous sophomore season, with eight goals and eight assists for 24 points. He is tied for second in the league in assists, fourth in shots on goal (23), sixth in shots (48) and eighth in goals, and leads his team in each of those categories. A native of Sunyani, Ghana, Gyan has played in all 16 of Clemson’s games, with 16 starts.
Simmonds leads all ACC players in goals (7) and points (17) in conference play this season. He has totaled nine goals, five assists and 23 points for the season and ranks third in the league in total goals and fourth in total points. A native of Midlothian, Virginia, he was the lone freshman to be voted First-Team All-ACC this season.
Erb owns a league-low 0.41 goals against average as well as 10 shutouts this season for NC State, which has allowed just seven goals this season. The native of Houston, Texas, started all 18 games for the Wolfpack after transferring in from San Diego State and leads the conference in GAA, save percentage (.848), shutouts and shutouts per game (0.56).
Named ACC Coach of the Year for the third time, Gelnovatch guided Virginia to the ACC regular-season championship this season, the program’s first since capturing the 2019 ACC Coastal Division. UVA earned the ACC Championship’s No. 1 seed for the first time since 2001. The Cavaliers own an 11-1-4 record, including a 5-0-3 mark in conference play, and enter the ACC semifinals on a 13-game unbeaten streak. UVA currently sits in the No. 2 position in the latest NCAA RPI. Now in his 30th season at Virginia, Gelnovatch also won ACC Coach of the Year honors in 1996 and 2001.
The semifinals of the 2025 ACC Men’s Soccer Championship will be played Thursday, November 13, at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, with No. 1 seed Virginia and No. 12 seed California facing off at 5:30 p.m. ET, followed by No. 6 seed Syracuse playing No. 7 seed SMU at approximately 8 p.m. ET. ACC Network will air both matches. The championship match will be broadcast on ESPNU on Sunday, November 16, at 1 p.m. ET.
In the latest NCAA RPI on Tuesday, ACC teams hold eight of the top 30 spots, led by Virginia (2), Stanford (10), SMU (11) and NC State (13) in the top 15.
2025 ACC Men’s Soccer Season Honors
Offensive Player of the Year – Donavan Phillip, Jr., F, NC State
Defensive Player of the Year – Nikola Markovic, So., D, NC State
Midfielder of the Year – Ransford Gyan, So., Clemson
Goalkeeper of the Year – Logan Erb, Sr., NC State
Freshman of the Year – Nick Simmonds, F, Virginia
Coach of the Year – George Gelnovatch, Virginia
2025 All-ACC Team
First Team
Ransford Gyan, So., M, Clemson
Kenan Hot, Sr., M, Duke
Logan Erb, Sr., GK, NC State
Taig Healy, Sr, M, NC State
Nikola Markovic, So., D, NC State
Donavan Phillip, Jr., F, NC State
Arnau Vilamitjana, Gr., M, Pitt
Fletcher Bank, Sr., M, Stanford
Zach Bohane, Sr., M, Stanford
Nick Simmonds, Fr., F, Virginia
Cooper Flax, Sr., M, Wake Forest
Second Team
Wahabu Musah, So., F, Clemson
Nathan Richmond, Sr., M, Clemson
Kamran Acito, Sr., D, Duke
Ulfur Bjornsson, Jr., F, Duke
Dylan Kropp, Sr., D, North Carolina
Luca Nikolai, Jr., D, North Carolina
Stephan Soghomonian, So., F, SMU
Slade Starnes, Sr., D, SMU
Nick Dang, Sr., D, Virginia
Casper Mols, Gr., GK, Virginia
Umberto Pelà, Sr., M, Virginia
Third Team
Luka Lukic, Gr., F, California
Kwaku Agyabeng, Fr., M, Clemson
Misei Yoshizawa, Sr., M, Clemson
Drew Kerr, Sr., M, Duke
Jack Sandmeyer, Gr., M, North Carolina
Calem Tommy, Sr., D, NC State
Wyatt Lewis, Jr., M, Notre Dame
Nolan Spicer, Jr., M, Notre Dame
Charles-Emile Brunet, So., M, SMU
Tomas Hut, Gr., GK, Syracuse
Sebastian Pop, Gr., D, Virginia
2025 All-Freshman Team
Andrej Borak, GK, Boston College
Kwaku Agyabeng, M, Clemson
Max Simpson, M, Duke
Immanuel Mathe, D, North Carolina
Riley Moloney, D, NC State
Joshua Partal, M, Stanford
Jack Pymm, M, Stanford
Landon Darko, M, Syracuse
Zach Ehrenpreis, M, Virginia
Nick Simmonds, F, Virginia
Dagur Traustason, F, Virginia Tech