Velazquez-Lopez Named to Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It was announced Friday (Oct. 2) that South Carolina men’s soccer midfielder Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez was named by the United Soccer Coaches as one of the 30 Division I players to the 2026 Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List.

Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez was one of seven midfielders to be named on the list. He is one of three players on the list from the Sun Belt Conference and the only midfielder.

A junior from Knoxville, Tenn., Velazquez-Lopez has helped the Gamecocks to a 7-1-1 record to being the season and a No. 1 ranking for the first time in program history. He is second on the team with four goals and 10 points. He has two assists on the season and is tied for the team lead with two game winning goals.

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 2026 midseason watch list was compiled by members of the Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List Committee. A total of 15 players will be named 2026 Hermann Trophy semifinalists on December 4 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 2026 recipient will be announced January 8, 2027, in a ceremony at the historic Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis, Mo.