North Carolina State University Athletics
Men’s Soccer Announces 2024 Season Team Awards
4/8/2025 3:23:00 PM | Men's Soccer
RALEIGH – The NC State men's soccer program held its first banquet under head coach Marc Hubbard on Saturday, April 5 at the Dail Club to announce the 2024 team awards.
The 2024 season proved to be the most successful year for the program in 30 years after head coach Marc Hubbard led the team to the NCAA Sweet 16 in his first season with the team. The year kicked off with the best start to a season since 1992, and ended with an appearance in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1994 and the first 10-win season since 2018. An undefeated month of October launched the Pack into the United Soccer Coaches Poll rankings, where they would reach a high of No. 12 and finish at No. 14. After the conclusion of the season, Hakim Karamoko and Donavan Phillip were selected in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft. Karamoko was the 10th overall pick and signed with D.C. United while Phillip was the 62nd overall pick and elected to stay with the Wolfpack for the 2025 season.
2024 NC State men's soccer award winners:
Most Valuable Player: Henrique Santos
Santos was a four-year member of the program and earned the starting nod in all 20 matches of his senior campaign averaging 72 minutes of action in each of those appearances. He finished the season with three goals as he netted the game-winning goal in the final 10 minutes of the ACC opener with California at home, scored in the 5-1 statement win over No. 10 SMU, as well as scored the lone goal to secure the 1-0 win over Louisville. As a midfielder, he also tallied three assists, two of which were against ranked opponents.
Most Improved Player: Drew Lovelace
Lovelace is a three-year member of the program and appeared in all 20 games during the season, earning his first starting nod in the road match at Stanford on Oct. 4 and remaining in the starting lineup for the remainder of the season. He scored the opening goal against fourth-seeded Georgetown in the second round of the NCAA tournament on the road. By the end of the season, he tallied six points from two goals and two assists while recording 21 shots taken and five shots on goal.
Most Dedicated Player: Caden Tolentino
Tolentino is a three-year member of the program and continues to grow his impact on the sport and his community. He was a recipient of the PNC Achievers award in February; PNC Bank highlights the accomplishments of college students who demonstrate academic, civic, and peer leadership in the community and the classroom. Tolentino was nominated to be the president of S.A.A.C (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) in January. During spring matches this year, he earned the team's Alpha Wolf award for tallying the most points.
Most Inspirational Player: Will Buete
Buete was a four-year member of the program and is a local-grown player from right here in Wake County. As a junior, he was a co-captain for the team in 2023. This past season (2024) he held a prominent role during matches as a midfielder, earning points in the first three games of the season. He netted the game-winning penalty kick in the 1-0 home win over Florida Gulf Coast on August 25. He made five starts in the first nine games played before suffering a season-ending injury in the Duke match in September. In February he earned the 2025 Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship Award which is given to student-athletes who intern to pursue a graduate degree. Those honored have performed with distinction in both the classroom and their respective sport, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community and were chosen by a vote of the league's FARs at the ACC Winter Meetings.
Looking Ahead
The team will play its final spring match this Sunday, April 13th at noon against Pittsburgh at Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. Tickets to attend the match are available for purchase here. More information can be found here.
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