Gelnovatch Named ACC Coach of the Year, Six Cavaliers Pick Up ACC Honors
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch earned ACC Coach of the Year honors, while freshman Nick Simmonds was named to the All-ACC First Team and recognized as the ACC Freshman of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday (Nov. 12). In total, six Cavaliers received All-ACC honors.
Virginia’s All-ACC honorees include Simmonds (first team, all-freshman), Nick Dang (second team), Casper Mols (second team), Umberto Pelà (second team), Sebastian Pop (third team) and Zach Ehrenpreis (all-freshman).
Gelnovatch claimed his third ACC Coach of the Year award after leading the Cavaliers to the ACC regular-season title with an undefeated conference record—the program’s first since 2001. Virginia concluded the regular season with a 10-1-4 overall mark while facing the nation’s sixth-toughest schedule. The Cavaliers recorded five positive results against top-25 opponents on their way to earning the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.
Simmonds was named ACC Freshman of the Year while earning spots on both the All-ACC First Team and All-Freshman Team following a standout debut campaign. The rookie forward scored nine goals—most among freshmen from Power Four programs this season. He becomes the seventh Cavalier to receive the award since its inception in 1990 and the second in the past three seasons (Stephen Annor, 2023). Simmonds was named ACC Player of the Week on Oct. 28 and appeared on the 2025 Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List.
Simmonds proved to be at his best in the Cavaliers’ biggest moments, scoring eight goals in conference play. He equalized late at then-No. 8 Virginia Tech, scored twice in a 6-3 win over then-No. 1 Wake Forest, netted the game-winner at then-No. 2 NC State, recorded his first career hat trick against Clemson, assisted on the decisive goal at SMU to clinch the ACC regular-season title, and delivered the game-winner against North Carolina to send Virginia to the ACC Semifinals.
2025 ACC Men’s Soccer Season Honors
Offensive Player of the Year – Donavan Phillip, Jr., F, NC State
Defensive Player of the Year – Nikola Markovic, So., D, NC State
Midfielder of the Year – Ransford Gyan, So., Clemson
Goalkeeper of the Year – Logan Erb, Sr., NC State
Freshman of the Year – Nick Simmonds, F, Virginia
Coach of the Year – George Gelnovatch, Virginia
2025 All-ACC Team
First Team
Ransford Gyan, So., M, Clemson
Kenan Hot, Sr., M, Duke
Logan Erb, Sr., GK, NC State
Taig Healy, Sr, M, NC State
Nikola Markovic, So., D, NC State
Donavan Phillip, Jr., F, NC State
Arnau Vilamitjana, Gr., M, Pitt
Fletcher Bank, Sr., M, Stanford
Zach Bohane, Sr., M, Stanford
Nick Simmonds, Fr., F, Virginia
Cooper Flax, Sr., M, Wake Forest
Second Team
Wahabu Musah, So., F, Clemson
Nathan Richmond, Sr., M, Clemson
Kamran Acito, Sr., D, Duke
Ulfur Bjornsson, Jr., F, Duke
Dylan Kropp, Sr., D, North Carolina
Luca Nikolai, Jr., D, North Carolina
Stephan Soghomonian, So., F, SMU
Slade Starnes, Sr., D, SMU
Nick Dang, Sr., D, Virginia
Casper Mols, Gr., GK, Virginia
Umberto Pelà, Sr., M, Virginia
Third Team
Luka Lukic, Gr., F, California
Kwaku Agyabeng, Fr., M, Clemson
Misei Yoshizawa, Sr., M, Clemson
Drew Kerr, Sr., M, Duke
Jack Sandmeyer, Gr., M, North Carolina
Cal Tommy, Sr., D, NC State
Wyatt Lewis, Jr., M, Notre Dame
Nolan Spicer, Jr., M, Notre Dame
Charles-Emile Brunet, So., M, SMU
Tomas Hut, Gr., GK, Syracuse
Sebastian Pop, Gr., D, Virginia
2025 All-Freshman Team
Andrej Borak, GK, Boston College
Kwaku Agyabeng, M, Clemson
Max Simpson, M, Duke
Immanuel Mathe, D, North Carolina
Riley Moloney, D, NC State
Joshua Partal, M, Stanford
Jack Pymm, M, Stanford
Landon Darko, F, Syracuse
Zach Ehrenpreis, M, Virginia
Nick Simmonds, F, Virginia
Dagur Traustason, F, Virginia Tech