The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 15 Soccer has three named to Mac Hermann Trophy Watch List
08.17.2023 | Soccer
Three Texas Longhorns help make up the 56-member list
AUSTIN, TX – The United Soccer Coaches association announced Thursday that 56 NCAA Division I women's soccer student-athletes were named to the 2023 Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy Watch List. Of those 56, The University of Texas had three representatives: forward Trinity Byars, midfielder Lexi Missimo and defender EmJ Cox.
The trio of Texas women's soccer student-athletes make up nearly half of the Big 12 Conference's representatives (7) regardless of position.
Byars is one of eight Hermann semifinalist from last season who is returning to play collegiate women's soccer this season. She is also one of 17 student-athletes on the watch list who have earned previous All-American recognition from United Soccer Coaches.
Byars, the Big 12's Offensive Player of the Year last season, set a new Texas single-season goals record with 17, which was one more than the previous record held by Kelly Wilson since 2004. She will enter the 2023 season needing just one goal to become just the fourth student-athlete in program history to score 30-or-more career goals.
Missimo, who joined Byars as the only Texas representatives on the preseason All-Big 12 team earlier this month, has either tied or set the program's single-season assist record in both of her seasons on the Forty Acres. As a result, the Southlake native is just 11 assists shy of surpass Wilson's career assist record of 41.
Cox, who was selected as the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, is one of just two defenders from the Big 12— joining BYU's fifth-year senior Lava Vaka — selected to the watch list. Overall, she is also one of just five junior defenders who made the list. Last season, she played 1,710 possible minutes during the regular season as the Longhorns went on to win the league's regular season title after posting eight shutouts and limiting opponents to a 0.79 goals-per-match mark.
Fifteen women's soccer student-athletes become Hermann Trophy semifinalist following the completion of Division I All-America voting at the conclusion of the Division I fall season. On December 6th, three women's finalist will be announced, before the 2023 winner is revealed on Jan. 5, 2024 in a ceremony at the historic Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, Mo.
The Hermann Trophy, which is presented annually by MAC, is the nation's highest individual honor as it recognizes the national player of the year as determined by the voting of Division I coaches who are members of United Soccer Coaches.
UP NEXT
Texas will open up its 2023 regular season on Thursday, Aug. 17, when the Longhorns battle Long Beach State at 7 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. CT in Long Beach, California with the match available to stream on ESPN+.
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