BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- The Southwestern Athletic Conference has announced its 2023 Soccer Postseason Honors. The all-conference teams and individual award winners were voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
 
Jackson State’s Kendyl Terrell was named Offensive Player of the Year while Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Brisha Musungu was tabbed Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Grambling State’s Aria Whitney was named Midfielder of the Year and Southern’s Sydney Bellamy claimed Goalkeeper of the Year.
 
Texas Southern’s Isabella Dillow was voted Freshman of the Year and Grambling State’s Justin Wagar was named Coach of the Year to round out the list of individual award winners.
 
Offensive Player of the Year
Terrell led Jackson State in every major statistical category this past season. She recorded a team leading 19 points with eight goals on 44 shots. Terrell leads the team with 19 shots on goal and is tied with teammate Kalia Uehara with three assists, and also leads the team with three match winning goals. She has played in 17 matches while starting 14 with a total of 1,135 minutes played.
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Musungu started in all 20 of UAPB's matches this season, playing a full 90-minutes in 14 of those matches. Her season was highlighted by the Lady Lions win over Tarleton State at home, where she scored the game-winning goal and anchored the defense to a shutout over a team that averaged three goals per game coming into the contest. Later in the season, Musungu played 90 total minutes in both matches against Alabama A&M and Alabama State, anchoring the defense to hold both teams without a goal, while also scoring the game-winning goal against Alabama A&M.
 
Midfielder of the Year
Whitney was one of the leaders of the GSU soccer team, making numerous plays on the offensive and defensive sides of the field. She played in all 20 games, scoring four goals and dishing out five assists. Defensively, she has been a force, helping the Tigers hold nine opponents scoreless while ranking No. 2 in goals allowed (24). 
 
Goalkeeper of the Year
Bellamy was a key contributor for a Southern Jaguars soccer team that completed regular season competition with a 5-1-3 league mark. The Jaguars claimed the No. 3 seed in the 2023 SWAC Soccer Tournament in part due to the significant contribution of Bellamy inside the net. She tallied 76 saves while logging 1,421 minutes of action.
 
Freshman of the Year
In her first season at Texas Southern, Dillow proved herself to be an aggressive player and  leader on the field having the second most team goals with five, including four in SWAC play against Alcorn State, Mississippi Valley, Southern, and Jackson State. She also sits in the top five of the conference in multiple categories while logging 16 games played.
 
Coach of the Year
Wagar has led GSU on sensational run since returning as head coach. This season, he guided the Tigers to a 12-4-4 overall record and earned the No. 1 seed in this year's SWAC Tournament by going 8-0-1 in conference play. Over the past two seasons, GSU has only lost one regular season SWAC match, posting a 13-1-4 record dating back to last year.
  
A complete listing of the all-conference teams and individual award winners is listed below.

Offensive Player of the Year
Kendyl Terrell, Jackson State
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Brisha Musungu, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
 
Midfielder of the Year
Aria Whitney, Grambling State
 
Goalkeeper of the Year
Sydney Bellamy, Southern
 
Freshman of the Year
Isabella Dillow, Texas Southern
 
Coach of the Year
Justin Wagar, Grambling State
 
All-SWAC First Team
Defender: Adrianna Pratt, Grambling State
Defender: Brisha Musungu, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Defender: Iyanla Bailey-Williams, Southern
Forward: Kendyl Terrell, Jackson State
Forward: Karlyn Judge, Grambling State
Forward: Iyanah Hicks, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Midfielder: Raheal Aka-Ety, Mississippi Valley State
Midfielder: Aria Whitney, Grambling State
Midfielder: Aniya Clark, Southern
Midfielder: Samantha Diaz. Grambling State
Goalkeeper: Sydney Bellamy, Southern
 
All-SWAC Second Team
Defender: Victoria Mealing, Alabama A&M
Defender: Ayanna Pinder, Jackson State
Defender: Kaylen Jankans, Grambling State
Forward: Iliana Casiano, Alabama State
Forward: Beatriz Kretteis, Grambling State
Forward: Deja Griffin, Southern
Midfielder: Camila Jimenez, Alabama State
Midfielder: Yiselle Bernal, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Midfielder: Genesis Hernandez, Mississippi Valley State
Midfielder: Gia Johnson, Southern
Goalkeeper: Madison Covey-Taylor, Grambling State
 
About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.
 
Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, and Tennis.
 
Women’s competition is offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, and Volleyball.

Follow the SWAC
For complete coverage of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, please follow the SWAC on social media at @TheSWAC (Twitter), @TheSWAC (Facebook), and @TheSWAC (Instagram) or visit the official home of the Southwestern Athletic Conference at www.swac.org.