CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Big South Conference has announced the All-Conference award winners as nine Panthers were voted on by fellow Big South Coaches and recognized Tuesday afternoon.
 
Four Panthers were named Player of the Year in their respective positions, while Zach Haines earned his third Big South Coach of the Year award in consecutive years. In fact, Haines is the first Big South coach to win the award three years in a row. Brendan Krueger was tabbed with Midfielder of the Year, while Jefferson Amaya won Defensive Player of the Year as he is the first Big South student-athlete to win offensive, defensive, and freshman of the year awards during his career in three consecutive years. Ross Johnstone earned himself the Newcomer of the Year award, as Frankie DeFrancesco is going home with the Freshman of the Year award.
 
The regular season champs had four student-athletes listed to First Team All-Conference as Krueger, Johnstone, Amaya, and Mohammed Seidu were honored. DeFrancesco, Alfred Baafi, Josh Caron, and Lukas Kamrath were tabbed with Second Team All-Conference, while Beau Yantz was listed as Honorable Mention All-Conference. Kamrath and DeFrancesco found themselves on the All-Freshman Team as Caron was also put on the All-Academic Team for his outstanding performance on the field and especially in the classroom.
 
#8 Brendan Krueger, Jr., Midfielder: Midfielder of the Year / First Team All-Conference
 
Krueger was one of four Panthers to start all 15 games this season. He scored a team leading six goals, and recorded a conference leading eight assists in 1,170 minutes on the pitch. Six of his eight assists came in conference games. Krueger was also listed to the TopDrawerSoccer Midseason Players to Watch list (#79) and is a one-time Big South Offensive Player of the Week award winner.
 
#4 Jefferson Amaya, Jr., Midfielder/Defender: Defensive Player of the Year / First Team All-Conference
 
Amaya played two different positions this year. Not only was he a midfielder but he also played as a defender. He started in all 14 games played in as he had to miss one game due to serving a red card. Amaya was a big reason for why HPU only allowed 12 goals all year and recorded six shutouts throughout the year. On the offensive side of the ball, Amaya scored just two goals this year compared to his five last year. But he dished out five assists and was successful for his one penalty kick attempt. Amaya was listed as No. 75 in the TDS Midseason Players to Watch list as well earning a Big South Defensive Player of the Week award.  
 
#6 Ross Johnstone, Gr., Midfielder: Newcomer of the Year / First Team All-Conference
 
Johnstone came to HPU to play his last season of collegiate soccer after previously spending four seasons at the University of San Diego. Johnstone started in all 15 games as he was one of four guys to do so. He scored a season high five goals during his 1,195 minutes on the pitch. Three of his five goals came during conference play. Johnstone earned himself a Big South Offensive Player of the Week award, while also being tabbed to a TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week Honorable Mention.
 
#11 Frankie DeFrancesco, Fr., Forward: Freshman of the Year / Second Team All-Conference / All-Freshman Team
 
DeFrancesco is a true freshman who really made a name for himself around the league. Playing in all 15 games, making 13 starts, he scored four goals and tallied three assists. He started his career by scoring a goal in his first collegiate game at NC State, while going on to score three more. DeFancesco's most recent goal came as the game winner to upset No. 1 Pittsburgh. DeFrancesco earned many weekly awards throughout his rookie campaign; three-time Freshman of the Week, one-time Offensive Player of the Week, and was listed as No. 30 on the TopDrawerSoccer Top 100 Freshman list.
 
#24 Mohammed Seidu, Sr., Defender: First Team All-Conference
 
Seidu started all 15 games for HPU is his first season in the Purple and White after transferring from Marshall. A one-time TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week Honorable Mention scored one goal and tallied one assist as he was a major part of the HPU defense that recorded six clean sheets. Seidu led the team in minutes as he played 1,255 minutes on the pitch this year.
 
#37 Josh Caron, R-So., Goalkeeper: Second Team All-Conference / All-Academic Team
 
Caron started all 10 games he played in. Suffering an injury during the middle of the year kept him out for a few games before he made a full return against Longwood. Playing in 886:47 minutes this year, Caron held a 0.91 GAA with a 0.735 save percentage. A 5-3-2 record was good enough to record three clean sheets while making 25 saves on 87 shots faced.
 
#5 Lukas Kamrath, R-Fr., Defender: Second Team All-Conference / All-Freshman Team
 
Kamrath transferred to HPU from Notre Dame as he became another key part in the back line for High Point. Kamrath played in 13 games, making 12 starts after suffering an injury in the beginning of the season. After making a full recovery, he was able to do his part in the six shutouts and 12 goals against. He scored his first career goal in a conference game at Presbyterian which came in game winning fashion.
 
#18 Alfred Baafi, So., Forward: Second Team All-Conference
 
Baafi was a sophomore transfer from Kentucky who played in all 15 games, making 12 starts. He scored four goals and tallied three assists during his 843 minutes on the pitch. Baafi led the team in shots with 27 as he always would find an open lane and create chances with his speed. He scored the game winner to take down No. 17 Elon, and then proceeded to score a goal in his next two games. Baafi is a one-time Offensive Player of the Week.
 
#12 Beau Yantz, Jr., Defender: Honorable Mention All-Conference
 
Yantz played in all 15 games, making 14 starts. He scored one goal and tallied two assists. His one goal came as the game winner at home against Radford. Yantz was a big part in the HPU defense allowing just 12 goals and recording six shutouts. Yantz was right behind Seidu for minutes as he tallied 1,207 minutes on the pitch during his junior season at High Point. Yantz is a one-time Defensive Player of the Week award winner.
 
Head Coach Zach Haines: Coach of the Year
 
Haines has been named the Big South Coach of the Year in three consecutive seasons now. He led this year's High Point Panthers to a 10-3-2 overall record and a 6-1 record in the Big South. Haines added two ranked wins to his resume as HPU upset No. 17 Elon, 1-0 and then No. 1 Pittsburgh, 1-0. The Panthers have been ranked nationally as high as No. 11 this year in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 2 in TopDrawerSoccer.
 
The Panthers were named Big South Regular Season Champions for the second year in a row and for the fifth time since 2017. They will be the No. 1 seed heading into the Big South Tournament with a bye to the semifinals.
 
2024 Big South Conference Men's Soccer Award Winners
 
First-Team All-Conference
F – Damorney Hutchinson, Sr., Presbyterian College
F – Elias Khodri, Jr., Gardner-Webb
F – Ethan Stevenson, Sr., Longwood
MF – Brendan Krueger, Jr., High Point
MF – Ross Johnstone, Sr., High Point
MF – Carson Griffith, R-Sr., Presbyterian College
MF – Aaron Asamoah, Jr., Longwood
D – Jefferson Amaya, Jr., High Point
D – Leo Andrade, Jr., Gardner-Webb
D – Max Fisher, Soph., Gardner-Webb
D – Mohammed Seidu, Sr., High Point
GK - Charlie Farrar, Sr., UNC Asheville
AL – Rodrigo Ferreria, MF, Sr., Winthrop
 
Second-Team All-Conference
F – Alfred Baafi, Soph., High Point
F – Frankie DeFrancesco, Fr., High Point
F – Lucas Mauro, Gr., Gardner-Webb
MF – Brendan Herb, Sr., UNC Asheville
MF – Steven Cordova, Jr., Presbyterian College
MF – Edvin Grolimund, Sr., UNC Asheville
MF – Giampaolo Nardi, Jr., Gardner-Webb
D – Breno Correia, Soph., Gardner-Webb
D – Myles Edmondson, Sr., UNC Asheville
D – Lukas Kamrath, R-Fr., High Point
D – Benian Yao, Sr., UNC Asheville
GK – Josh Caron, R-Soph., High Point
AL – Caio Hughes, MF, Sr., Gardner-Webb
 
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Emory Crichlow, D, Soph., Winthrop
Beau Yantz, D, Jr., High Point
Morgan Dance, MF, Fr., Presbyterian College
Carson Hickok, D, Sr., USC Upstate 
Jan Maldonado, MF, Sr., Radford
 
All-Freshman Team
Frankie DeFrancesco, F, Fr., High Point 
Lukas Kamrath, D, R-Fr., High Point
Morgan Dance, MF, Fr., Presbyterian College
Jesper Vikman, D, Fr., Gardner-Webb
Liam Duggan, MF, Fr., USC Upstate
Brando Bedolla, F, Fr., Longwood
Ryan Armijo, MF, Fr., Winthrop
 
All-Academic Team
Giampaolo Nardi, MF, Jr., Gardner-Webb
Josh Caron, GK, R-Soph., High Point
Max Hinke, GK, Jr., Longwood
Carson Griffith, MF, R-Sr., Presbyterian College
Alex Eydelman, GK, Sr., Radford
Heath Flathau, D/MF, Sr., UNC Asheville
Cooper Jennings, GK, R-Soph., USC Upstate
Diego Candia, D, Sr., Winthrop
 
Offensive Player of the Year
Damorney Hutchinson, Sr., F, Presbyterian College
 
Midfielder of the Year
Brendan Krueger, Jr., High Point
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Jefferson Amaya, Jr., High Point
 
Goalkeeper of the Year
Charlie Farrar, Sr., UNC Asheville
 
Freshman of the Year
Frankie DeFrancesco, F, High Point
 
Newcomer of the Year
Ross Johnstone, Sr., MF, High Point
 
Coach of the Year
Zach Haines, High Point
 
Scholar-Athlete of the Year 
Giampaolo NArdi, MF, Jr., Gardner-Webb