The Missouri Valley Conference announced its men’s soccer postseason honors on Saturday, as voted on by the league’s seven head coaches.
Evansville’s Pablo Calvete earned the Conference’s Player of the Year distinction, while teammates Devin Shepherd and Etienne Ravelli were named the MVC Forward and Defender of the Year, respectively.
Belmont’s Paul Claes Nielsen was given the Midfielder of the Year award, while rookie Leon De Ciccio was recognized as the league’s Freshman of the Year.
Bowling Green’s Jason Ball was named the MVC Goalkeeper of the Year, while the Falcons’ coaching staff, led by head coach Eric Nichols, was tabbed The Valley’s Coaching Staff of the Year.
For the second-consecutive season, the Belmont Bruins were awarded the MVC Fair Play Award, which is structured after the FIFA Fair Play honor. It is awarded to The Valley squad that has the fewest penalty cards during all regular-season contests.
A total of 22 student-athletes, represented by all seven programs, landed a spot on either the first or second all-conference team while six players were named to the MVC All-Freshman Team.
Player of the Year: Pablo Calvete, Evansville
Defender of the Year: Etienne Ravelli, Evansville
Goalkeeper of the Year: Jason Ball, Bowling Green
Forward of the Year: Devin Shepherd, Evansville
Midfielder of the Year: Paul Claes Nielsen, Belmont
Freshman of the Year: Leon De Ciccio, Belmont
Coaching Staff of the Year: Bowling Green (Eric Nichols, Gonzalo Carranza, Jack Bennett, Finny Sayer)
MVC Fair Play Award: Belmont
With his distinction, Calvete became Evansville’s first Player of the Year recipient in program history. The senior midfielder helped the Purple Aces earn a share of the MVC regular-season title for the second-consecutive year. Calvete started and appeared in 15 matches for Evansville, registering 15 shots and three goals.
For the second-straight year, and fourth time in program history, the MVC Defender of the Year hails from Evansville, as league newcomer Etienne Ravelli earned this year’s distinction. He was a part of an Evansville defense that allowed just three goals during Conference play, which was tied for a league low.
Ball, the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year, is the second keeper in program history to earn the distinction, joining Brendan Graves who earned it in BGSU’s final year in the MAC in 2022. Ball gave up just three goals during Valley play, four total, in nine starts this year. He averaged a league-high 5.22 saves per match, with 37 of his 47 total saves coming during Conference matches.
Shepherd became the first Evansville player to earn the Forward of the Year distinction since it was established in 2020. He was one of three Purple Aces to start every match this season, recording 1,329 total minutes. Shepherd registered four goals and four assists on the year, including three assists in league play.
Claes Nielsen, the MVC Midfielder of the Year, ranked inside the top five in the Conference this season in shots and shots on goal. He helped the Bruins finish with a league-high 27 goals during the regular season, accounting for five of those, including two game winners.
He and De Ciccio are the first two Bruins to earn an individual specialty award since Belmont joined the league ahead of the 2022 campaign.
De Ciccio is the only freshman on the All-MVC First or Second Team in 2026, earning second-team honors. He’s just the third Bruin to earn Conference Freshman of the Year honors, joining Matteo Bennati (2017 – Horizon League) and Brandon Tarr (2009 – Atlantic Sun).
For the first time since joining the Missouri Valley Conference, Bowling Green’s coaching staff, led by head coach Eric Nichols, was voted the MVC Coaching Staff of the Year by their peers. Nichols and his staff guided the Falcons to their first MVC regular-season title, and just the fifth regular-season championship in program history. This is the third time in his head coaching career that he has been recognized with the postseason laurel.
| FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE |
|
|
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown (Previous School) |
| GK |
Jason Ball |
Bowling Green |
Sr. |
Miamisburg, Ohio (Miamisburg HS) |
| D |
Gus Peacock |
Bowling Green |
Sr. |
Wyoming, Ohio (Wyoming HS) |
| D |
Etienne Ravelli |
Evansville |
So. |
Milan Italy (Creighton) |
| D |
Christian Shannon |
Western Michigan |
Jr. |
St. Joseph, Mich. (St. Joseph HS) |
| M |
Paul Claes Nielsen |
Belmont |
So. |
Copenhagen, Denmark (Rybners Gymnasium) |
| M |
John McDowell |
Belmont |
Gr. |
Chapel Hill, N.C. (North Carolina) |
| M |
Aidan Ptacek |
Bowling Green |
Sr. |
Hudson, Ohio (University School) |
| M |
Pablo Calvete |
Evansville |
Sr. |
Ponferrada, Spain (UNIR) |
| F |
Devin Shepherd |
Evansville |
So. |
Denver, Colo. (Arapahoe HS) |
| F |
Vitor Geromel |
Western Michigan |
Jr. |
Wichita, Kan. (Maize South HS) |
| F |
Sahel Yessen |
Western Michigan |
Jr. |
Birmingham, England (Spring Arbor University) |
|
|
|
|
|
| SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE |
|
|
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown (Previous School) |
| GK |
Alex Lindewirth |
Western Michigan |
Sr. |
Foristell, Mo. (Wentzville Holt HS) |
| D |
Leon De Ciccio |
Belmont |
Fr. |
Tullinge, Sweden (Tullinge Gymnasium) |
| D |
Will Bencic |
Evansville |
Sr. |
Cincinnati, Ohio (Lakota East HS) |
| D |
Cole Schrage |
Drake |
Sr. |
Urbandale, Iowa (Waukee Northwest HS) |
| M |
Caue Ramos |
Bowling Green |
So. |
Olinda, Brazil (Colegio Santa Emilia) |
| M |
Izan Redondo |
Evansville |
Jr. |
Arroyomolinos, Spain (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) |
| M |
Alan Alonso |
UIC |
Jr. |
Grayslake, Ill. (Grayslake Central HS) |
| F |
Tyson McCoy |
Bowling Green |
So. |
Ann Arbor, Mich. (Pioneer HS) |
| F |
Mitch Coughlon |
Bradley |
Sr. |
Washington, Ill. (Washington Community HS) |
| F |
Alejandro Fernandez |
Evansville |
Jr. |
Madrid, Spain (Alfonso X El Sabio University) |
| F |
Sebastian Khoury |
UIC |
Jr. |
Palatine, Ill. (Eastern Illinois) |
| ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM |
|
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Hometown (Previous School) |
| D |
Leon De Ciccio |
Belmont |
Tullinge, Sweden (Tullinge Gymnasium) |
| D |
Judah McCloud |
Belmont |
Frisco, Texas (Homelife Academy) |
| D |
Matheus Filipe |
Bowling Green |
Juiz de Fora, Brazil (Escola Estadual Francisco Menezes Filho) |
| M |
Cody Bochenski |
Drake |
Glen Ellyn, Ill. (Glenbard West HS) |
| M |
Artem Grinblat |
UIC |
Vernon Hills, Ill. (Acellus Academy |
| D |
Neo Heyral |
Western Michigan |
Leipzig, Germany (YSC Academy) |