Big Ten men’s soccer all-conference teams and awards revealed for 2020-2021

ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Big Ten Conference announced the 2020-21 men’s soccer All-Big Ten teams and individual honors as selected by a vote of the head coaches.

Indiana, the 2020-21 Big Ten Champion, claimed three honors as Victor Bezerra was named Offensive Player of the Year, Roman Celentano collected Goalkeeper of the Year honors and Todd Yeagley was voted Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season. Michigan’s Jackson Ragen was named Defensive Player of the Year and teammate Marc Ybarra earned Midfielder of the Year accolades. Ohio State’s Laurence Wootton was selected as Freshman of the Year.

Bezerra leads the Big Ten in points (15), points per game (1.88), goals (6) and goals per game (0.75) this season and was the unanimous selection as Offensive Player of the Year. He is the third Hoosier to earn the award since it was created in 2009 and the first since Eriq Zavaleta in 2012.

Ybarra, who was a second-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2019, was named Midfielder of the Year after he tied for the Big Ten lead with five assists this season and tied for third with nine points. He becomes the second Wolverine to be named Midfielder of the Year and the first since Tyler Arnone in 2013.

Ragen, a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2019, was voted Defensive Player of the Year after tying for third in the Big Ten with four goals this season. He is the first ever Wolverine to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Celentano was the unanimous selection as Goalkeeper of the Year after posting a 0.25 goals-against average, a .935 save percentage and six shutouts in eight games, all of which paced the Big Ten. He becomes the second Indiana student-athlete to be named Goalkeeper of the Year and the first since Trey Muse in 2018.

Wootton tied for the Ohio State team lead with two assists this season and ranked second on the Buckeyes in points with four. He is the fifth Buckeye to be named Freshman of the Year and the first since Matt Lampson claimed the award in 2009.

Yeagley was voted Coach of the Year after leading Indiana to the 2020-21 Big Ten Championship, marking the team’s third title in as many seasons. The Hoosiers are the first team to win three consecutive Big Ten Championships since the program won nine straight from 1996 through 2004. Yeagley was also named the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2010, 2018 and 2019, and was the NCAA Coach of the Year in 2012.

Bezerra, Celentano, Ragen and Ybarra were all unanimous selections on the All-Big Ten First Team and were joined by Wootton, Indiana’s Spencer Glass, Michigan’s Joel Harrison, Northwestern’s Ugo Achara Jr., and the Penn State trio of Danny Bloyou, Brandon Hackenberg and Pierre Reedy. The full All-Big Ten Teams are listed below.

The Big Ten also recognizes nine Sportsmanship Award honorees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These students must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The complete list of honorees is also listed below.

The Big Ten Tournament begins on Saturday with No. 2 seed Penn State playing host to No. 7 seed Ohio State at 12 p.m. ET on BTN. No. 4 seed Maryland will host No. 5 seed Rutgers at 1 p.m. on BTN+, followed by No. 6 seed Michigan State at No. 3 seed Michigan at 2 p.m. on BTN and No. 8 seed Northwestern visiting No. 1 seed Indiana at 7 p.m. on BTN.

The semifinals will take place on Wednesday, April 14, at the sites of the highest remaining seeds in each half of the bracket, while the final is scheduled for Saturday, April 17, at the highest remaining seed.

2020-21 Big Ten Men’s Soccer Awards

Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year: Victor Bezerra, Indiana*
Big Ten Midfielder of the Year: Marc Ybarra, Michigan
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year: Jackson Ragen, Michigan*
Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year: Roman Celentano, Indiana*
Big Ten Freshman of the Year: Laurence Wootton, Ohio State
Big Ten Coach of the Year: Todd Yeagley, Indiana

All-Big Ten First Team

Forward
Victor Bezerra, Indiana*
Ugo Achara Jr., Northwestern
Danny Bloyou, Penn State

Midfield
Marc Ybarra, Michigan*
Laurence Wootton, Ohio State
Pierre Reedy, Penn State

Defense
Spencer Glass, Indiana
Joel Harrison, Michigan
Jackson Ragen, Michigan*
Brandon Hackenberg, Penn State

Goalkeeper
Roman Celentano, Indiana*

All-Big Ten Second Team

Forward          
Paul Bin, Maryland
Farai Mutatu, Michigan State
Ritchie Barry, Rutgers

Midfield
Herbert Endeley, Indiana
Ben Bender, Maryland
Jack Beck, Michigan State
Seth Kuhn, Penn State

Defense
Daniel Munie, Indiana
Brett St. Martin, Maryland
Nick Stone, Michigan State

Goalkeeper
Kris Shakes, Penn State

All-Big Ten Freshman Team

Joey Maher, Indiana*
Ben Bender, Maryland
Jacen Russell-Rowe, Maryland
Bryce Blevins, Michigan
Quin Rogers, Michigan
Jack Zugay, Michigan State
Rom Brown, Northwestern
Parker Grinstead, Ohio State
Laurence Wootton, Ohio State*
Peter Mangione, Penn State*
Tim Bielic, Wisconsin*

Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honorees

Spencer Glass, Indiana
Mike Heitzmann, Maryland
Carlos Tellez, Michigan
Isiah Handspike, Michigan State
Max Silberg, Northwestern
Mitch Bergman, Ohio State
Nicholas Rieple, Penn State
Nick Cruz, Rutgers
Tim Bielic, Wisconsin

* – Unanimous selection