BRENTWOOD, Tenn. --- Houston Christian University pulled in a huge haul of hardware on Friday afternoon as the Ohio Valley Conference announced its postseason accolades with the Huskies having seven different players capture honors for the second straight season. HCU claimed half of the conference's six major awards with
D'Alessandro Herrera being named Midfielder of the Year,
Alex Aitken collecting Goalkeeper of the Year honors and
Joby Reid tabbed as the Freshman of the Year.
The All-OVC first team included Herrera and Aitken, who were joined by
Ryan Okerayi and
Nico Kross.
Ricardo Garcia was named to the All-OVC second team while freshmen Reid and
Ben Thirkill were both chosen to the All-Newcomer Team.
Herrera and Okerayi have now been named OVC All-Conference in each of the league's first three seasons. Herrera was named the Midfielder of the Year for the second time in his career, while Okerayi earned his third consecutive first-team placement.
Aitken becomes just the fifth HCU player ever to capture an end-of-season Player of the Year honor. He joins teammate Herrera, as well as 2010 ASC Player of the Year Lorne Cameron and Carlos Gill, who was selected as the Trans America Conference Player of the Year four consecutive years from 1982-85.
Senior's Herrera and Aitken put together fantastic final seasons on Fondren Road. The pair were named to the WAC All-Freshman team in 2022 and have continued to be the backbone of the club throughout their careers.
Herrera had five goals and three assists for 13 points while starting all 17 regular season matches. He, along with Okerayi, are the first three-time All-Conference selections since Kristopher Tyrpak was named all-conference four times in three separate leagues from 2010-13.
The Houston native becomes the first two-time OVC Midfielder of the Year after previously winning the award as a sophomore in 2023. Herrera has placed himself all over the career leaderboards at HCU, ranking 10th all-time with 17 goals, tied for fourth with 19 assists and seven game-winners and eighth with 53 points. He is one of 10 players all-time with 50 or more points.
Aitken earns OVC postseasons honors for the second straight season while rewriting the goalkeeping record books in this, his final season for the Huskies. The senior from Great Barford, England was named OVC Goalkeeper of the Week six times during the regular season while starting all 17 matches and playing all but 10 minutes of the entire slate.
He places himself at the top of the all-time charts in several categories during a season in which he posted a single-season best 10 victories. He leads the league and ranks 11th in the nation with his eight shutouts, the season straight season with eight and making him the program leader in clean sheets with 20.
His 26 victories for his career are the most in school history since the program was restarted in 2006, and he has 70 saves on the season to push his career total to 299, tops in the record book. His 0.77 GAA average thus far is first in the OVC. He also paces the league this year in save percentage while also ranking fourth in total saves and saves per game. He is the first net-minder in school history to be selected as Goalkeeper of the Year.
Joby Reid has put forth a tremendous rookie campaign in being named the league's top freshman and earning a place on the All-Newcomer squad. He finished the regular season with five goals, six assists and 16 points while starting 16 of 17 matches. He ranked tied for third in the OVC in assists, fifth in points, and tied with Herrera at eighth in goals.
A forward out of Tauranga, New Zealand, Reid is the third straight HCU player to claim the OVC Freshman of the Year accolade, and is the fourth rookie of the year in program history, joining previous OVC choices Okerayi and
Morgan Worsfold-Gregg and 2010 ASC Rookie of the Year Kristopher Tyrpak.
Ryan Okerayi adds to his trophy case again by earning his fourth overall OVC honor in three seasons. The junior from Houston has now been named First Team All-OVC for three straight seasons, as addition to being named the Freshman of the Year in 2023.
A physical front man in the offense, Okerayi leads the team in goals and points. He is tied for the top spot in goals with eight, which represents a new single-season high for him and the most in a season since Bryant Farkarlun's nine in 2022. He is second in the league in shots and tied for third in points with 18.
Okerayi is the first three-time first-team all-conference selection in the same league since Carlos Gill in the Trans America Conference from 1982-85. His 20 career goals rank him seventh all-time, one of just seven to hit that mark. He is 10th all-time in points with 50 and his three game-winners this season give him six for his career, tied for sixth-best in program history.
Ricardo Garcia earns his first career All-Conference nod, making 16 starts while playing all 17 matches. The Houston native has been solid all season roaming the entire field, scoring a goal and adding an assist while controlling traffic on the offensive end while also providing strong defensive help out of the middle.
A Heidenheim, Germany native,
Nico Kross earns All-Conference honors for the first time in his first season at HCU after transferring from East Tennessee State. It is the second career postseason accolade for the junior defender, as he was chosen to the SoCon All-Freshman team in 2023. He has been a staple on the backline for HCU, starting all 17 matches and playing all but 23 minutes this season. He had a goal and two assists, with his lone score of the season being the game-winner in a 1-0 victory at Liberty. He led a stingy defense that allowed just 14 goals in 17 matches and a paltry .077 shot percentage.
Joining Reid on the All-Newcomer team is
Ben Thirkill. The freshman from Bingley, England has provided balance in the midfield as well as helping the in the defensive effort for HCU all season, forming a formidable midfield trio with Herrera and Garcia. His first collegiate goal was the game-winner at UIW while he is tied for third on the squad with three assists, including the corner entry to Kross for the game-winner at Liberty. Reid and Thirkill were two of the three freshmen named to the 12-man newcomer squad.
"These young men are so deserving. They put in the hard work to build upon last year, to help us get where we are right now. Being recognized by the league is truly gratifying and is a testament to their work ethic and desire to make our program what it is. We are so proud of them not only for what they do on the field, but how they represent us off of it as well."
– Head Coach Ryan Pratt
The other half of the major accolades in the league went to OVC regular season champions Lindenwood University, as it was rewarded with the Forward (Luca Bartoni), Defender (Leandro Haesler) and Coach of the Year (Kris Bertsch).
HCU enters the postseason at 10-5-2 on the season after finishing the OVC slate at 5-3-2. The Huskies earned the top spot in the pod on the final day of the regular season to gain the top-two seed and first round bye that goes along with it. The top seed is Lindenwood, who will host the tournament after two straight seasons at two-time defending champion SIUE.
It is the second straight season the Huskies have been the second-seed in the tournament, with paly beginning on Sunday with the two quarterfinal matches. Third-seed Liberty takes on six-seed Eastern Illinois and two-time defending champion and fourth-seed SIUE playing fifth-seed Western Illinois. HCU will take on the winner of Liberty and EIU on Wedneday at 7 pm, with Lindenwood facing either SIUE or WIU in the match preceding at 4 pm.
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