Alabama Soccer Wins Six of Seven Major SEC Honors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After an historic regular season, the Alabama soccer team won six of seven major Southeastern Conference postseason awards, the league office announced Sunday. Head Coach Wes Hart was tabbed Coach of the Year, while Riley Mattingly Parker was named Forward of the Year, Felicia Knox was named Midfielder of the Year, Reyna Reyes was named Defender of the Year and Gianna Paul was named Freshman of the Year. Additionally, Parker was also selected as the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

This marks the first time in program history that UA has had a student-athlete earn forward, midfielder or defensive player of the year honors, while marking the second time a UA athlete has picked up freshman of the year and third time a UA coach has earned coach of the year.

In addition to the major honors, Alabama had eight selections for all-conference teams. Knox, Parker and Reyes were named First Team All-SEC honorees, while Paul, Riley Tanner and Sasha Pickard were selected for Second Team All-SEC honors. Paul and Brooke Steere were named to the All-Freshman team.

Wes Hart – SEC Coach of the Year

• Has led the Alabama soccer team to an historic season
• The Tide is currently ranked third in United Soccer Coaches poll and first in TopDrawerSoccer’s weekly rankings, surpassing the UA’s previous best ranking of 15^th during the 2020-21 season
• Alabama clinched the SEC Title with a perfect 10-0 run in conference play, becoming the first team with an undefeated league record since South Carolina in 2016
• The Tide also won the West division for the first time in 24 years
• UA has won a program-best 17 games on the year and is on a program-best 13-game run
• Alabama has topped then-No. 5 South Carolina, then-No. 6 BYU, then-No. 7 Arkansas, then-No. 18 Clemson and then-No. 20 Ole Miss
• Alabama has set the school record for points with 160 and assists with 50, and is currently tied for the program record in shutouts with 10
• Wes Hart earned UA’s first Coach of the Year honor since Don Staley secured the accolade in 1998

Riley Mattingly Parker – Forward of the Year/ Scholar Athlete of the Year

• Leading goal scorer for the Tide and 10^th best player in the NCAA for total goals with 12 this season
• Ranks 11^th nationally in total points with a team-leading 29
• Has tied the school record for single-season game-winning goals with five on the year
• Her five game-winning goals is the fifth best by a player…