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ST. LOUIS – The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), in conjunction with the Missouri Athletic Club, announced on Wednesday afternoon that Wofford men's soccer junior midfielder Connor Davis has been named as one of 32 candidates on the 2014 Hermann Trophy Watch List.
 
Davis led Wofford in points (27) and goals (11) last season; ranking among the top 20 in the NCAA. Davis was named to the All-Southern Conference First Team, the NSCAA All-South Region team and the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll during the 2013 campaign.
 
The Hermann Trophy is presented annually by the Missouri Athletic Club recognizing the best men's and best women's player in intercollegiate soccer. Regarded as the highest individual trophy a player can receive at the collegiate level, previous winners include former U.S. National Team players Alexi Lalas, Claudio Reyna and Mia Hamm.
 
"He really epitomizes the term student-athlete," said seventh-year head coach Ralph Polson. "Not only is he successful on the field, but in being named to the SoCon Academic Honor Roll for the second consecutive year shows that he can also handle his business in the classroom. In terms of his value to our team, his statistics are one thing; but if you asked any of his teammates they would say he leads by example. He does things the right way, day in and day out, and has increased his value to the team over the last two years.
 
"It's a tremendous honor for him, and a great honor for Wofford men's soccer," Polson continued.  "Even more so, it's great exposure for Wofford College. When you look at where the program started and what we've been able to accomplish, specifically in the last two years since Connor started here, the respect for Wofford soccer has grown tremendously. Obviously he's not the only one on the team, but he's helped set the tone and pushed others to work harder."  
 
Fourth-year assistant coach Joel Tyson also commented on Davis's achievement, stating, "What separates Connor from a lot of players in our league is he knows where to be at all times. He's embraced where we've put him since day one, and his knowledge of the game, combined with his ability to play box-to-box, makes him a special player."
 
In 1967, Robert Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the NPSL's successor, the North American Soccer League, established a trophy to annually recognize the top men's collegiate soccer player. The trophy, named the Hermann Trophy, has been awarded each year since 1967. In 1988, a second Hermann Trophy was inaugurated to recognize the top women's collegiate player of the year.

In 1986, the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) began naming an annual player of the year as a rival to the Hermann Trophy. In 1996, the NSCAA initiated its own annual player of the year award. These three competing awards began merging three years later when the NSCAA and MAC agreed to cooperate on naming a combined collegiate player of the year. Finally, beginning in 2002, the NSCAA, the Missouri Athletic Club and the Hermann Trophy merged to create a unified award for the top college soccer player of the year.

Davis and the rest of the men's soccer team are ready to gear up for the regular season, reporting to training camp on Thursday, August 14.  The team takes on Queens University of Charlotte in exhibition on Wednesday, August 20. The match is slated for 6 p.m.