Men's Postseason Top 100 Freshmen

by TopDrawerSoccer

December 19, 2023

Check out the final men’s Freshman player rankings, accounting for everything from kick-off in August to the finale in December.

1. Alex Harris, Cornell – The Washington native was dominant this season as his 12 goals led all Freshman, and adding his four assists in 15 games, Harris finished sixth nationally among all players in points per game. First-year forwards are rarely this dominant, but the former High School All-American defined all odds.

2. Pape Mar Boye, Clemson – Boye and Clemson may have struggled to start the fall, but a late season reason run to win the Conference and National championships highlighted the importance of finishing strong. The Senegalese center-back grew in strength every week, culminating in winning College Cup defensive MVP.

3. Stephen Annor, Virginia – Another Freshman who defined goal-scoring odds, Annor led the Virginia frontline with ten goals. Those performances saw his stock skyrocket as a player who may never play another minute of college soccer.

4. Liam O’Gara, Wake Forest – As one of the premier institutions in college soccer, Wake Forest rarely relies on Freshmen to make a leading impact, which makes what O’Gara did all the more impressive. The lanky midfielder started all 18 games, played nearly 1500 minutes, and was an ever-present force for a team that regularly hung around the top 15 rankings.

5. Julian Eyestone, Duke – In his lone collegiate season, Eyestone was a mature presence for a Duke team desperate for an elite goalkeeper, so much so that he graduated high school a year early to join. That gamble paid off, as the Texas native showed well before announcing his decision to pursue professional opportunities.

Check out the rest of the Top 100 here.

All 23 conferences have a player on the list, with 21 having two or more. The Big Ten leads with 14 athletes, followed by the Sun Belt at 11, the ACC at 10, the A10 with 7, then the Pac-12 at 6.

There were 77 programs on the list with no real outliers, as no team had more than three Freshmen represented. Those teams were Marshall, Penn State, and Stanford.

Related Topics: Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Ivy League, Pacific 12, Sun Belt