Greenville, S.C. – Furman's Braden Dunham and Diego Hernandez have been named to the United Soccer Coaches Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List, it was announced this afternoon.
 
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.

"We are extremely proud of both Diego and Braden for the recognition they have earned," said Paladin head coach Brandon Tucker. "They are outstanding leaders for our team and great representatives of Furman University on and off the field. It's a great honor for them to be mentioned among the top players in the country."

Hernandez, a first team United Soccer Coaches All-American selection and MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist a year ago, has tallied a team-best four goals through nine matches this season while guiding the Paladins to a 3-2-4 record. He was ranked as the No. 1 player in the nation in Top Drawer Soccer's Preseason Top 100. The Mesquite, Texas, native paced the Paladins in goals and assists a year ago en route to Southern Conference Player of the Year honors.
 
Dunham, who led the United States U-19 National Team to the finals of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship this past summer, has totaled a goal and an assist while helping the Furman defense post three shutouts in 2026. The Atlanta, Ga. product earned Top Drawer Freshman Best XI honors a year ago. The 2025 SoCon Freshman of the Year scored seven goals from his centerback position and guided the Paladins to 10 clean sheets. He was tabbed as the No. 4 player in the country in the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Top 100. 
 
The 2026 recipient will be announced January 8, 2027, in a ceremony at the historic Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis, Mo.
 
 
 
2026 NCAA Division I Men's Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List

Position	Name	Class	School	Hometown
K	Jonathan Evans	So.	SMU	Collegeville, Pa.
K	Niklas Herceg	So.	University of Vermont	Alsdorf, Germany
K	Andrew Samuels	Sr.	Princeton University	Burlingame, Calif.
D	Harry Bertos	Jr.	University of Washington	Bedford, Mass.
D	Braden Dunham	Fr.	Furman University	Peachtree City, Ga.
D	Dylan Groneveld	Sr.	Stanford University	Coronado, Calif.
D	Noah Holmstrom	So.	SMU	Aalborg, Denmark
D	Tate Lampman	Jr.	Georgetown University	Ann Arbor, Mich.
D	Shakir Nixon	Jr.	UCLA	Cerritos, Calif.
D	Matthew Reed	Jr.	Creighton University	Felton, Del.
M	Ransford Gyan	So.	Clemson University	Sunyani, Ghana
M	Diego Hernandez	Jr.	Furman University	Mesquite, Texas
M	Miles Merritt	Sr.	Michigan State University	Albuquerque, N.M.
M	Connor Miller	Jr.	Cornell University	Centennial, Colo.
M	Zach Ramsay	Jr.	University of Washington	Redmond, Wash.
M	Joschi Schelb	Jr.	University of North Carolina	Freiburg, Germany
M	Alejandro Velazquez Lopez	Jr.	University of South Carolina	Knoxville, Tenn.
F	Tomiwa Adewumi	Fr.	Marquette University	Pittsburgh, Pa.
F	Mitchell Baker	So.	Georgetown University	Melbourne, Australia
F	Mariano Beunza	GR-5	UMKC	Pamplona, Spain
F	Isaiah Chisolm	Sr.	Ohio State University	Yorktown, Va.
F	Andres Escudero	So.	University of Louisville	San Sebastian de los Reyes, Spain
F	Oliver Moller Jensen	Sr.	Indiana University	Atlanta, Ga.
F	Daniel Lugo	Jr.	High Point University	St. Petersburg, Fla.
F	David Ismail	GR-6	University of Vermont	Bayreuth, Germany
F	Jaylin Mitchell	Sr.	SMU	La Mirada, Calif.
F	Pablo Pozos	Jr.	West Virginia University	Madrid, Spain
F	Diego Real	GR-5	Missouri State University	Valencia, Spain
F	Louis Rourke	Sr.	Old Dominion University	Nottingham, England

 
 
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