By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Making a profound impact in his debut season with the Simon Fraser men’s soccer team, Daniel Jackson headlined the 2026 all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference selections as the GNAC Player of the Year.
 
A junior from Athens, Greece, Jackson led his team with eight goals and four assists in 16 contests to also capture GNAC Newcomer of the Year honors. Western Oregon’s Archie Dhima was selected as the GNAC Freshman of the Year, while Seattle Pacific featured GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Victor Cabanas and GNAC Coach of the Year Kevin Sakuda.
 

GNAC Men's Soccer 2026 All-Conference Team
Player of the Year	Daniel Jackson, Simon Fraser
Defensive Player of the Year	Victor Cabanas, Seattle Pacific
Newcomer of the Year	Daniel Jackson, Simon Fraser
Freshman of the Year	Archie Dhima, Western Oregon
Coach of the Year	Kevin Sakuda, Seattle Pacific

 

First-Team All-Conference
Name	School	Position	Height	Year	Hometown (Previous School)
Archie Dhima*	Western Oregon	Forward	5-9	Fr.	Mill Creek, Wash. (Jackson)
Kundalini Dominique*#	Simon Fraser	Forward	6-0	Jr.	Montreal, Que. (Coll. Ahuntsic)
JP Guzman*	Seattle Pacific	Forward	5-10	So.	Vancouver, Wash. (Columbia River)
Judah Straight*	Seattle Pacific	Forward	5-10	Jr.	Bellingham, Wash. (North Idaho Coll.)
Daniel Jackson*	Simon Fraser	Midfielder	6-4	Jr.	Athens, Greece (Ionikos Nikea)
Rafael Lucio*$	Seattle Pacific	Midfielder	5-7	Sr.	Las Vegas, Nev. (Columbia Basin Coll.)
Landon Schulze*	Western Washington	Midfielder	6-2	So.	Surrey, B.C. (Elgin Park)
Victor Cabanas #	Seattle Pacific	Defender	5-11	So.	Federal Way, Wash. (San Jose State)
Eli White*#	Western Oregon	Defender	6-0	So.	Portland, Ore. (McDaniel)
Angelo Lemb*	Northwest Nazarene	Defender	6-0	Sr.	Paris, France (Lycee Tezenas du Montcel)
Austin Valdez*#	Western Oregon	Goalkeeper	5-10	Sr.	Seattle, Wash. (Utah Valley)
*Unanimous Selection $ - First Team in 2025 # - Second Team in 2025 @ - Second Team in 2024 ^ - Second Team in 2023 & - Honorable Mention in 2024

 

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Second-Team All-Conference
Name	School	Position	Height	Year	Hometown (Previous School)
Jose Perez	Western Washington	Forward	5-9	So.	Tieton, Wash. (Federal Way)
Koji Poon $@^	Simon Fraser	Forward	5-9	Jr.	Vancouver, B.C. (University Hill)
Tommy Carroll	Western Washington	Forward	6-3	So.	Bend, Ore. (Summit)
Ignacio Brandan	Western Oregon	Midfielder	5-10	Jr.	Covington, Wash. (Bellevue Coll.)
Marcus Vazquez &	Western Oregon	Midfielder	5-4	Jr.	Goleta, Calif. (Real Salt Lake)
Shahbod Jafary	Simon Fraser	Midfielder	5-10	Fr.	Burnaby, B.C. (Burnaby Central)
Caleb Putney @	Northwest Nazarene	Midfielder	5-10	Jr.	Vancouver, Wash. (Union)
Isaac Ketcham	Seattle Pacific	Defender	5-11	Sr.	Sammamish, Wash. (Skyline)
Pablo Perera	Simon Fraser	Defender	6-1	So.	Moehlin, Switzerland (Wirtschaftsgymnasium Basel)
Kasey Toevs	Seattle Pacific	Defender	6-2	So.	Quincy, Wash. (Quincy)
Willem Ficek	Seattle Pacific	Goalkeeper	6-3	5th	Eugene, Ore. (Grand Canyon)
*Unanimous Selection $ - First Team in 2025 # - Second Team in 2025 @ - Second Team in 2024 ^ - Second Team in 2023 & - Honorable Mention in 2024

 

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Honorable Mention All-Conference
Name	School	Position	Height	Year	Hometown (Previous School)
Jim Wagenaar ^	Northwest Nazarene	Forward	6-0	Sr.	Den Bosch, Netherlands (Koning Willem I Coll.)
Ousman Garba	Northwest Nazarene	Midfielder	5-11	Sr.	Yaounde, Cameroon (Citizens)
Abdullahi Sharif	Northwest Nazarene	Midfielder	5-10	Jr.	Doha, Qatar (Aspire Acad.)
Illyes El Yansli	Northwest Nazarene	Defender	5-9	Jr.	Arry, France (Mobile)
Elijah Brockl	Northwest Nazarene	Goalkeeper	6-2	So.	Boise, Idaho (Boise)
Xander Koenig ^	Saint Martin’s	Forward	6-1	Sr.	Bellingham, Wash. (Squalicum)
Juan Diaz	Saint Martin’s	Midfielder	5-11	Jr.	Yakima, Wash. (Spokane Falls CC)
Jackson Rotondo	Saint Martin’s	Defender	6-0	Jr.	Yakima, Wash. (Walla Walla CC)
David Ochoa	Seattle Pacific	Defender	5-10	Sr.	Sunnyside, Wash. (Columbia Basin Coll.)
Tristan Otuomagie	Simon Fraser	Midfielder	6-4	So.	North Vancouver, B.C. (Carson Graham)
Nick MacKinnon	Simon Fraser	Defender	6-4	So.	Vancouver, B.C. (Elon)
Abokye Bikyeombe	Western Oregon	Midfielder	5-6	So.	South Ogden, Utah (Salt Lake CC)
Marcos Figueroa	Western Oregon	Midfielder	5-10	Sr.	SeaTac, Wash. (Wingate)
Jacob Solek	Western Oregon	Midfielder	5-6	Jr.	Wildomar, Calif. (Cal State LA)
Lunden Fenster^	Western Washington	Midfielder	5-10	Jr.	Bothell, Wash. (Everett CC)
Edgar Serrano &%	Western Washington	Midfielder	5-9	Sr.	Mount Vernon, Wash. (Northern Illinois)
Irving Baca-Silva	Western Washington	Midfielder	5-4	So.	Kent, Wash. (Kent Meridian)
$ - First Team in 2025 # - Second Team in 2025 @ - Second Team in 2024 ^ - Second Team in 2023 & - Honorable Mention in 2024 % - Honorable Mention in 2023

 

Seven of Jackson’s eight goals scored this season came during conference play, as he helped the Red Leafs earn a spot in this week’s GNAC Men’s Soccer Championships. His offensive prowess included a pair of multi-goal efforts highlighted by a hat trick on Oct. 8 against Western Washington. Jackson’s 20 total points and average of 1.25 points per game ranked him third in the conference, with both of his game-winning goals this season coming against conference opponents. He becomes the 10th Simon Fraser player to take home the league’s top honor and the sixth Red Leaf to earn the top newcomer honor as well. Jackson is the first player in GNAC men’s soccer history to earn both awards during the same campaign.
 
SFU’s previous GNAC Player of the Year honorees include Devin O’Hea in 2023, Mark Talisuna in 2022, Mamadi Camara in 2018, Marcello Polisi in 2017, Adam Jones in 2016, Jovan Blagojevic in 2014, Chris Bargholz in 2013, Michael Winter in 2012 and Carlo Basso in 2011. GNAC Newcomers of the Year from SFU include Conrad Cheng in 2021, Luciano Trasolini in 2018, Pascal Schmidt in 2015, Justin Wallace in 2011 and Michael Winter in 2010.
 
Dhima had the conference’s top offensive season, ranking fifth in NCAA Division II with 16 goals scored. The redshirt freshman from Mill Creek, Wash., scored his first two collegiate goals in his first game of the year and never looked back, on his way to four braces throughout the

season. He added four assists for 36 total points – an average of 2.0 points per game. He finished the regular season just as strong as he started it, scoring five goals in his final five contests to help propel the Wolves to their third straight GNAC regular-season title.
 
Dhima converted all six of his penalty-kick attempts and five of his goals stood as game-winners. He placed 62.3% of his shots on frame and was the league’s most productive offensive player despite averaging just 61.6 minutes per match. Dhima becomes the second Wolf to earn the league’s top freshman honor, joining teammate and 2024 winner Marcus Vazquez.
   

SPU’s Cabanas made it two consecutive seasons with a major GNAC award, claiming the top defensive honor after he was selected as the 2025 GNAC Freshman of the Year. One of the most reliable defenders in the conference over the last two seasons, Cabanas has started all 35 matches since the outset of his collegiate career in 2025. This season he started all 16 games and played the full 90 minutes in all but five contests on the back line. His efforts helped the Falcons secure the No. 2 seed into the GNAC Championships for the second consecutive season. Cabanas is the fourth SPU player and second SPU field player to garner the award, joining goalkeeper Lars Helleren (2021), goalkeeper Cody Lang (2015) and defender Jon Pearman (2011 & 2012). Cabanas is also the third player in conference history to win both the top freshman and top defender awards in his career, joining Pearman (2009 FOTY) and Simon Fraser’s Magnus Kristensen (2013 FOTY, 2016 & 2017 DPOTY).
 
Sakuda’s peers voted him the league’s top coach for the second consecutive season and for the third time since his tenure began in 2021. Under his guidance, the Falcons posted the top overall record among GNAC teams during the regular season at 15-3-1 and finished one point behind WOU in the final standings at 7-2-1 in conference matches for 22 points. SPU’s stellar season included wins over No. 5 Stanislaus State in the opener on Aug. 27 and No. 4 Point Loma on Sept. 5. He is the sixth men’s soccer coach since the league was formed in 2001 to earn three (or more) Coach of the Year awards.
 
The 2026 GNAC Men’s Soccer Championships kick off on Thursday at Interbay Stadium and will be hosted by Seattle Pacific University. Complete details including the game schedule, ticket and live coverage information can be found online here.