Six Bears Earn All-Conference Honors

MACON – Headlined by Junior Casillas and Eli Bannister, six members of the Mercer men's soccer team earned All-Conference recognition, the Southern Conference announced this evening.

Casillas and Bannister were voted to the All-SoCon First Team by the conference's coaches. Fernando Arteaga and Henry Hampshaw received All-SoCon Second Team nods. Bannister joins fellow freshmen Will Taylor and Manza Masamuna as members of the SoCon All-Freshman Team.

Junior Casillas excelled in his first season in Macon. Casillas transferred to Mercer from Omaha before the start of the season. The Lexington, Nebraska, native leads the Bears with six goals, four assists, 16 points and has appeared in 16 of the Bears' 17 matches this season. A former JUCO National Champion, Casillas adds his All-SoCon First Team honors to a loaded resume. Before coming to Mercer, Casillas was a pivotal piece of Omaha's program and earned 2023 All-Summit Second Team and All-Newcomer team honors. In his second year at Iowa Western, Casillas became a member of the Region 11 Second Team and All-Tournament Team in 2022.

Eli Bannister has turned heads for the Bears all year. In his first year of collegiate soccer, Bannister has appeared in 15 matches as Mercer's primary left back. Bannister notched his first goal of his young collegiate career in the early stages of the Bears' match against Air Force on September 11. His first assist would come three days later against Denver. The freshman from Fayetteville, Georgia, also bagged his first game-winning goal with just seconds remaining on the clock in Mercer's thrilling comeback win over ETSU. Bannister's seven points and three assists are the second-most of any defender in the Southern Conference. Bannister is the first Bear to receive All-Freshman and All-SoCon First Team honors in the same season since Trevor Martineau in 2018.

Although Fernando Arteaga missed the first half of the season, the senior midfielder hit the ground running as soon as he stepped onto the pitch. Arteaga has eight starts and nine appearances in 2025, is third on the team with three goals and has the second-most points (9). A native of Jonesboro, Georgia, Arteaga came to Macon in 2022, three years after his older brother Roberto Arteaga graduated from Mercer. Fernando is in his fourth year as a Bear, appearing in 58 matches and logging over 2,900 minutes for the orange and black. As a freshman, Arteaga recorded a brace in his collegiate debut that sparked a campaign where he received All-Freshman laurels.

Henry Hampshaw finished the regular season with the 25th-most saves in the country. A transfer from William Carey, Hampshaw has 64 saves while maintaining a 1.55 goals against average in his first season at the Division I level. The Holmfirth, England, native kept his first clean sheet in Mercer's season opener against Oglethorpe. Hampshaw set a career single-match high in the Bears' season finale with nine saves against then ranked No. 21 UNC Greensboro. While playing for the Crusaders, Hampshaw kept eight clean sheets and posted a 0.96 GAA average across 19 starts as a redshirt freshman.

Will Taylor became a key piece to Mercer's attack. After coming off the bench in his first three appearances, Taylor earned a starting spot in the Bears' midfield and has logged over 1,200 minutes in the orange and black. Taylor earned his first goal contribution of his young collegiate career with an assist against then ranked No. 7 Furman in Mercer's SoCon opener. He followed that up a week later with another assist in the Bears' thrilling 5-4 victory over Wofford. Taylor assisted two more goals in Mercer's comeback win over ETSU before bagging his first collegiate goal against Jacksonville three days later. No Bear has more shots this season than Taylor's 26 and he also leads Mercer with nine shots on goal.

Manza Masamuna served as an anchor to the Bears' defensive midfield. Masamuna logged over 1,300 minutes this season, starting in all but one of Mercer's matches. The freshman from Lawrenceville, Georgia, notched his first collegiate point with an assist in the season opener. Masamuna was a pivotal piece in the Bears' three shutouts, patrolling the midfield and shutting down countless of attacking chances.

Mercer begins SoCon Tournament play on Sunday, November 9 against the winner of UNCG/VMI's match this Friday. The Bears earned a first-round bye straight to the semifinals and home-field advantage after clinching the No. 2 seed with a 3-1-1 SoCon record. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Betts Stadium.

2025 SoCon Men's Soccer Postseason Awards

Player of the Year: Diego Hernandez (Furman), Jr., MF, Mesquite, TX
Goalkeeper of the Year: Ivan Horvat (Furman), R-Fr., GK, Bratislava, Slovakia
Freshman of the Year: Braden Dunham (Furman), Fr., D, Peachtree City, GA
Coach of the Year: Doug Allison (Furman), 31st Season, Bath, England

All-SoCon First Team

F – Enzo Dovlo (UNCG), Jr., Paris, France
F – Wilfer Bustamante (Furman), So., Greenville, SC
F – Junior Casillas (Mercer), Gr., Lexington, NE
M – Diego Hernandez (Furman), Jr., Mesquite, TX
M – Luke Hutzell (Furman), So., Dacula, GA
M – Julien Le Bourdoulous (UNCG), Gr., Quemperven, France
M – Kalle Rahbek (Wofford), So., Odense, Denmark
D – Braden Dunham (Furman), Fr., Peachtree City, GA
D – Sami Lachekar (UNCG), Sr., Metz, France
D – Eli Bannister (Mercer), Fr., Fayetteville, GA
GK – Ivan Horvat (Furman), R-Fr., Bratislava, Slovakia

All-SoCon Second Team

F – Nathan Simes (Wofford), Sr., Wellington, New Zealand
F – Arnaud Tattevin (UNCG), Sr., Rennes, France
F – Ryan Reid (Furman), R-Fr., Overland Park, KS
F – Steven Hernandez (UNCG), R-Jr., Winston-Salem, NC
M – Jaime Carrillo (ETSU), Amarillo, TX
M – Fernando Arteaga (Mercer), Sr., Jonesboro, GA
M – Issah Haruna (UNCG), So., Bolgatanga, Ghana
D – Jakob Andersson (Wofford), Sr., Stockholm, Sweden
D – Ryan Wagner (Furman), So., Leawood, KS
D – Kimito Fritz (UNCG), Sr., Tokyo, Japan
D – Connor Stout (Furman), Fr., Fairfax, VA
GK – Seth Wilson (UNCG), R-Jr., Frisco, TX
GK – Henry Hampshaw (Mercer), So., Holmfirth, England

All-Freshman Team

Braden Dunham (Furman), Fr., D, Peachtree City, GA
Eli Bannister (Mercer), Fr., D, Fayetteville, GA
Ryan Reid (Furman), R-Fr., F, Overland Park, KS
Ivan Horvat (Furman), R-Fr., GK, Bratislava, Slovakia
Connor Stout (Furman), Fr., D, Fairfax, VA
Sam Byron (Wofford), Fr., Ooltewah, TN
Will Taylor (Mercer), Fr., MF, Lawrenceville, GA
Emil Holmberg (ETSU), Fr., GK, Norrkoping, Sweden
Trym Linberg (UNCG), Fr., Bærumsverk, Norway
Manza Masamuna (Mercer), Fr., MF, Lawrenceville, GA
Luke Munson (Furman), Fr., D, Little Elm, TX

Players Mentioned

Fernando Arteaga

Eli Bannister

Junior Casillas

Henry Hampshaw

Manza Masamuna

Will Taylor

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