KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Portland junior midfielder Nick Fernandez was one of just 16 NCAA Division I men's soccer players in the nation named to the 2024 Hermann Trophy Watch List, the United Soccer Coaches announced on Thursday.

Fernandez was recently named a Midfielder to Watch by the United Soccer Coaches and is one of five players on the Hermann Watch List to earn All-America honors last season. A third team All-American, Fernandez was also named the WCC Midfielder of the Year, All-WCC First Team and United Soccer Coaches All-West Region First Team. He became the first Pilot to earn WCC Midfielder of the Year honors in program history.
 
The Downers Grove, Ill. native played in 15 games with 13 starts last year, tallying two goals and seven assists. He was fourth in the WCC in assists and his goal against San Francisco proved to be the game-winner for the Pilots, helping them earn a bye in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988.

The Hermann Trophy is presented annually by the Missouri Athletic Club and is the nation's highest individual honor recognizing the National Player of the Year as determined by voting of Division I head coaches who are members of United Soccer Coaches. It is named in honor of the late Robert Hermann, the legendary St. Louis, Mo., businessman and soccer executive who founded the National Professional Soccer League, the first pro soccer league in the United States which became the North American Soccer League. He was inducted in the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2012.

The watch 2024 list was compiled by members of the Division I Men's All-America Council from a list of returning 2023 All-Americans as well as First Team All-Region players. A total of 15 players will be named 2024 Hermann Trophy semifinalists on December 11 at the conclusion of NCAA Division I All-American voting. From that list, head coaches will cast votes, and three players will be named finalists. The 2024 recipient will be announced January 3, 2025, in a ceremony at the Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis, Mo.

University of Portland men's soccer has had five players in its rich history go on to be M.A.C./Hermann Trophy Finalists: Kasey Keller (1990, 1991), Joe Leonetti (1991), Yari Allnutt (1992), Chris Brown (1998) and Nate Jaqua (2002).

No. 22-ranked Portland opens the season Friday by hosting the Washington Huskies at Merlo Field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex with a 7 p.m. kickoff. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video options. The match will be preceded by the annual Bite of Bluff with numerous food vendors set up in the Chiles Center Plaza beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets for the 2024 season are live now, with season tickets, flex packs and single-game tickets available at PortlandPilots.com/SOCCERTIX2024. You can click the URL for more information. 
 

Pos	Name	Class	School	Hometown
D	Leo Burney	Sr.	University of Pennsylvania	Seattle, Wash.
D	Nick Dang	Jr.	University of Virginia	Brentwood, Tenn.
D	Max Miller	Jr.	University of Kentucky	Lexington, Ky.
D	Jonathan Robinson	Jr.	Western Michigan University	Gurnee, Ill.
M	Sam Bassett	Sr.	University of Denver	Littleton, Colo.
M	Nick Fernandez	Jr.	University of Portland	Downers Grove, Ill.
M	Bailey Sparks	Sr.	Southern Methodist University	Plano, Texas
M	Jonathan Stout	Jr.	Michigan State University	Wyoming, Mich.
F	Chris Album	Jr.	University of Wisconsin-Green Bay	Vancouver, B.C.
F	Yaniv Bazini	GR-5	University of Vermont	Beit Hanan, Israel
F	Marcus Caldeira	Jr.	West Virginia University	Mississauga, Ont.
F	Lucca Duorado	Jr.	University of Central Florida	Sao Paulo, Brazil
F	Luis Flores	Sr.	Oral Roberts University	Lufkin, Texas
F	Marc Pitarch Bayot	Sr.	Bryant University	Ares del Maestrat, Spain
F	Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos	Sr.	Marshall University	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
F	Samuel Sarver	Sr.	Indiana University	Chesterland, Ohio