Two Gamecocks Named to MAC Hermann Trophy Watchlist
KANSAS CITY, MO – United Soccer Coaches announced on Thursday the 43 NCAA Division Women’s Division I college soccer players named to the 2025 Hermann Trophy Watch List, with Gamecocks Katie Shea Collins and Gracie Falla being selected.
This is the first career appearance on the watchlist for Collins, and the second for Falla (2024). The duo returns this season as a pair of All-SEC honorees and leaders on both sides of the ball.
Collins had a standout rookie season, netting 13 goals, including two hat tricks and the second-fastest goal in program history just 34 seconds into the first match of the season. She earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors three times during the year, the most a Gamecock has had in a season in program history. Collins also got the nod for SEC Offensive Player of the week, landed on TopDrawerSoccer’s Best XI Freshman First Team list, and the United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region Team.
Falla has made 64 starts in 66 appearances on the backline for the Gamecocks during her career, playing the full 90 minutes in 51 matches. Her steady presence for the Gamecock defense was a pivotal piece to South Carolina’s 13 shutouts her sophomore year, leading to her SEC Defender of the Year title. In the 2024 season, Falla led the team in minutes and recorded two assists from the back line.
The Hermann Trophy is presented annually by the Missouri Athletic Club and is the nation’s highest individual honor recognizing the National Player of the Year as determined by voting of Division I head coaches who are members of United Soccer Coaches. It is named in honor of the late Robert Hermann, the legendary St. Louis, Mo., businessman and soccer executive who founded the National Professional Soccer League, the first pro soccer league in the United States which became the North American Soccer League. He was inducted in the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2012.
The 2025 watch list was compiled by members of the Division I Women’s All-America Council from a list of returning 2024 All-Americans and First Team All-Region players. A total of 15 players will be named 2025 Hermann Trophy semifinalists on December 2 at the conclusion of NCAA Division I All-American voting. From that list, head coaches will cast votes, and three players will be named finalists. The 2025 recipient will be announced January 9, 2026, in a ceremony at the historic Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis, Mo.
Collins, Falla and the rest of the Gamecock women’s soccer squad will open the 2025 season on the road at Charleston Aug. 14 at 7:00 p.m.
