Greenville, S.C. – Furman senior and 2025 United Soccer Coaches First Team All-America selection Diego Hernandez has been named to the United Soccer Coaches Watchlist as one of the top midfielders, it was announced Friday morning.

A native of Mesquite, Texas, Hernandez compiled a team-best 10 goals and nine assists a year ago to power Furman to a 16-2-5 record, No. 3 national ranking, Southern Conference regular season and tournament titles, and the school's first trip to the NCAA College Cup. In addition to earning first team All-America honors, the SoCon Player of the Year was selected to the Top Drawer Soccer Best XI First Team, was a Top Drawer Soccer finalist for national player of the year and was a semifinalist for the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy.

Rated as the No. 2 player in the nation in the Top Drawer Soccer Postseason Top 100 list, Hernandez scored game-winning goals in victories over USC Upstate, Presbyterian, and ETSU. He totaled two goals in a 3-2 win over Davidson and scored in regulation and converted from the penalty spot in a shootout to lead the Paladins past Hofstra in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Furman, ranked No. 3 in the preseason United Soccer Coaches Top 25, begins its preseason with an exhibition match versus 16^th-ranked High Point on Saturday, August 8, at Stone Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is set for 10:00 a.m. and admission is free. 

2026 NCAA Division I Men's Players to Watch – Midfielders 
Jared Aquilar                Jr.         Tulsa
Braxton Arpachinda      Sr.        Western Michigan
Martin Bakken              Sr.        Clemson
Stavros Charalampous   Sr.        California Baptist
Evans Dapaah               Sr.        North Carolina
Malick Daouda              Jr.         Clemson
Jose De La Torre            Jr.         Cal State Fullerton
Matt Dreas                   Sr.        Akron
Paco Fernandez            Gr.       Bryant
Ben Fisher                    Sr.        Charlotte
Ransford Gyan              Jr.         Clemson
Alex Hall                       Jr.         Washington
Sabri Hanni                   Sr.        Grand Canyon
Diego Hernandez          Sr.        Furman
Eric Howard                  Sr.        Georgetown
Til Kauschke                  Jr.         Seton Hall
Anton Khelil                  Jr.         North Florida
Leon Koehl                   Sr.        Maryland
Martin Kozak                Sr.        Elon
Nico Loebus                  So.       North Carolina
Agustin Lopez               Jr.         Kentucky
Connor Miller               Sr.        Cornell
Richard Monath            Sr.        Delaware
Luka Nikolai                  Sr.        North Carolina
Collins Oduro                Sr.        Indiana
Isaac Powell                  Sr.        UC Irvine
Diego Rosas                  Sr.        Portland
Joschi Schelb                 Sr.        North Carolina
Iain Wagner                  Jr.         San Diego
Marco Wright               Sr.        Maryland
Ryan Zellefrow              Jr.         North Carolina
Giacomo Zizza               Jr.         Lousiville


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