NEW ORLEANS - Lewis Rourke has earned All-Sun Belt First Team while Alessandro Maldonado and Noah Dietze were selected to the All-Sun Belt Freshman Team, the conference announced on Friday.
Rourke leads the Monarchs with 22 points from nine goals and four assists. He has taken 28 shots and has 22 shots on target for a 78.6% shot on goal percentage. Rourke helped fuel ODU to its first national ranking in eight years, he earned Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week on September 8 after ODU went 2-0 over the week’s games.
The fourth year forward was named to the 2026 Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List, highlighting the top 30 student-athletes in Division-I men’s college soccer. Rourke averages 1.47 points per game, a mark that is good for second in the conference and 29th in the nation. He ranks second in the Sun Belt and 32nd in the nation with 22 points, his nine goals are tied for second best in the SBC and tied for 34th in the country. He has three multiple-point performances this season to rank tied for second best in the Sun Belt.
Rourke opened the season with a two-goal performance in a 3-1 win at George Washington. His next multi-point game was against Radford in the fourth game of the season, he scored one goal and provided two assists. His final multi-point performance was against UMBC in ODU’s 5-1 win over the Retrievers, Rourke notched a brace in the winning effort.
The Nottingham, England native is the first ODU men’s soccer player to earn an All-Sun Belt First Team selection in 36 years. Alumni Mike Radwanski and Joey Mallia both earned a place on the 1990 All-Sun Belt First Team. ODU’s last first team selection came in the now discontinued Conference USA in 2018. Former Monarchs Niko Klosterhalfen and Max Wilschre were the last student-athletes to don the Silver and Blue to earn the recognition.
Maldonado is a redshirt freshman who sat out last season due to injury. In his first official season he made 15 starts and appeared in every game for the Monarchs. Maldonado scored two goals from the penalty spot against William & Mary, he finished the season with 13 shots, six shots on target, and two goals. The freshman midfielder played 90 minutes in four games and played over 75 minutes on 10 occasions.
Dietze came to the United States this past summer from Hessen, Germany. He spent last year with SV Gonsenheim and TuS Hornau who are in the fifth and sixth tier of German soccer, respectively. This season, Dietze has established himself in a defensive partnership with fifth year defender David Chapman. He has started all 15 games he has appeared in and has chipped in two goals for four points on eight shots. The first year defender scored in back-to-back games against Elon in a 5-3 win and against Lehigh in a 2-0 win for the Monarchs.
2026 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Soccer Awards
Player of the Year
Drew Hansen, UCF (4th Year | F | Cleveland, N.C.)
Offensive Player of the Year
Broden Beorlegui, Georgia Southern (1st Year | F | Bradenton, Fla.)
Defensive Player of the Year
Mika Habel, South Carolina (4th Year | D | Regensburg, Germany)
Goalkeeper of the Year
Toby Mawer, West Virginia (3rd Year | GK | Bath, England)
Newcomer of the Year
Kanta Ishii, West Virginia (3rd Year | D | Tokyo, Japan)
Freshman of the Year
Broden Beorlegui, Georgia Southern (1st Year | F | Bradenton, Fla.)
Coach of the Year
Dan Stratford, West Virginia (seventh season)
All-Sun Belt Conference First Team
F – Broden Beorlegui, Georgia Southern (1st Year | F | Bradenton, Fla.)
F – Drew Hansen, UCF (4th Year | F | Cleveland, N.C.)
F – Pablo Pozos, West Virginia (4th Year | F | Madrid, Spain)
F – Lewis Rourke, Old Dominion (4th Year | F | Nottingham, England)
M – Mitch Pitcksley, Georgia Southern (4th Year | M | Leeds, England)
M – Carl Romberg, Marshall (4th Year | M/F | Werl, North Rhine-Westfalia, Germany)
M – Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez, South Carolina (3rd Year | M | Knoxville, Tenn.)
D – Gwendal Degorce, UCF (3rd Year | D | Lyon, France)
D – Takahiro Fujita, UCF (4th Year | D | Kawai, Japan)
D – Mika Habel, South Carolina (4th Year | D | Regensburg, Germany)
GK – Toby Mawer, West Virginia (3rd Year | GK | Bath, England)
All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team
F – Cristian Ortiz, South Carolina (1st Year | F | Tampa, Fla.)
F – Alex Partera, UCF (1st Year | F | Barcelone, Spain)
F – Ramado Pierre-Louis, Marshall (1st Year | F | Miami, Fla.)
M – Younes Boudinar, UCF (3rd Year | M | Limoges, France)
M – Alberto de Miguel, Coastal Carolina (3rd Year | M | Madrid, Spain)
M – Nikita Pakhomov, Marshall (3rd Year | M | Kursk, Russia)
M – Isaac Scheer, West Virginia (3rd Year | M | Charlotte, N.C.)
D – Civan de Jesus Ferreira, West Virgina (3rd Year | D | Berlin, Germany)
D – Kanta Ishii, West Virginia (3rd Year | D | Tokyo, Japan)
D - Tristan Pusztahegyi, West Virginia (3rd Year | D | Kitchener, Ontario, Canada)
GK – Matisse Hébert, UCF (3rd Year | GK | Saint-Jérôme, Québec, Canada)
Sun Belt Conference All-Freshman Team
F – Broden Beorlegui, Georgia Southern (1st Year | F | Bradenton, Fla.)
F – Costa Iliadis, Kentucky (1st Year | F | Toronto, Canada)
F – Ramado Pierre-Louis, Marshall (1st Year | F | Miami, Fla.)
M – Owen Barker, Georgia Southern (1st Year | M | Leyland, England)
M – Alessandro Maldonado, Old Dominion (2nd Year | M |Woodbridge, Va.)
M – Yoni Perez, South Carolina (1st Year | M | Tenerife, Spain)
D – Noah Dietze, Old Dominion (1st Year | D | Hessen, Germany)
D – Goncalo Machado, Marshall (1st Year | D |Lisbon, Portugal)
D – Ikenna Nnawuchi, James Madison (1st Year | D | Silver Spring, Md.)
GK – Maxim Luca, Georgia Southern (1st Year | GK | Celebration, Fla.)
GK – Yurij Obert, Marshall (1st Year | GK | Frankfurt, Germany)