Rock Hill, S.C.----The regular season SAC champion Wingate University Bulldogs piled up huge honors Wednesday morning when league officials announced the regular season award winners. Pedro Santos has been named the SAC Defensive Player of the Year, while Pablo Pozos is the SAC Freshman of the Year. In addition, Gary Hamill is the SAC Coach of the Year. Wingate had seven players earn all-conference honors. Santos, Pozos, Owen Marshall and Aleksa Janjic are first team All-SAC honorees, with Kosi Mafela and Harry Bircumshaw earning second team accolades. Dennis Hamzic is a third team selection.

Santos is the second straight Bulldog to earn SAC Defensive Player of the Year accolades, with Marshall earning the honor last season. Santos, an All-SAC and All-Region honoree last season, has anchored the eighth-ranked Bulldog defense all year. Wingate allowed just seven goals in league play this year, ranking second in the SAC in goals-against average. The 'Dogs have notched six shutouts on the season. In addition to his defensive efforts, Santos has two goals and three assists on the year. He netted the game-winner against Lenoir-Rhyne, while scoring the 90^th-minute game-winner at Anderson to clinch the regular season SAC title for the 'Dogs. He notched an assist in the SAC Tourney victory over Carson-Newman.

Pozos is the first SAC Freshman of the Year for the Bulldogs since Paul Ngongo earned the honor in 2019. The freshman leads the Bulldogs with nine goals and five assists for a team-best 23 points. He has three game-winning goals on the season. Pozos ranks fifth in the SAC in goals and points. His first career goal came in the win at Belmont Abbey, while notching a goal and an assist in the Emory & Henry victory. He struck again in the next game against Francis Marion, while scoring twice in the Carson-Newman win. Pozos had two goals and an assist in the Newberry victory. He scored in back-to-back games against Mars Hill and LMU.

Hamill earns SAC Coach of the Year honors for the 10th time in his career, the most in league history. He earns the honor for the second straight year, leading the Bulldogs to their second straight SAC title. He currently has the 'Dogs ranked eighth in the nation and second in the region. Hamill also won the award in back-to-back seasons in 2016 and 2017; the 2016 season also saw him earn region and national Coach of the Year accolades. Hamill first took home the honor in the 1993 season. He has piled up 377 victories in his 32 years as a head coach, going 169-68-22 in league play.

Marshall earns league honors for the fifth straight season. He is a first team selection for the third time in his career, while being named the SAC Defensive Player of the Year last year. He was also a consensus first team All-American in 2022. Marshall was once again a huge factor in Wingate's impressive defensive efforts, allowing just seven goals in league contests. The 'Dogs have registered six shutouts on the season. The All-American has started all 16 games for the Bulldogs this year.

Janjic is a first team All-SAC goalkeeper for the second straight year. The sophomore posted a 0.63 goals-against average in league games. He has 24 saves on the season while notching four shutouts. Janjic posted four saves against Rollins and five against Florida Tech. He also collected four saves against Catawba and LMU, while positing four straight shutouts against Newberry, Limestone, Lenoir-Rhyne and Mars Hill.

Mafela earns all-conference accolades in his first season with the Bulldogs. The freshman ranks second on the team with six goals and 12 points, netting a pair of game-winning goals. His first career goal came against Florida Tech, while netting the game-winner in his next game at Belmont Abbey. Mafela scored again in his next game, a 5-1 victory at Emory & Henry. He scored the winner against Carson-Newman, while also scoring in the Lenoir-Rhyne victory. Mafela scored in the 2-1 win at Anderson that clinched the regular season SAC title.

Bircumshaw is an All-SAC honoree in his first year at Wingate. He has started all 15 games he has appeared in this year, collecting a goal and three assists while also playing a key role in the defense that ranks second in goals-against average in league play. Bircumshaw scored a goal in the win at Newberry. He followed with an assist in the victory over Lenoir-Rhyne. He had assists in back-to-back 2-1 wins at Tusculum and Anderson as the 'Dogs clinched the regular season SAC title.

Hamzic picks up all-conference accolades for the first time in his career. He has started 12 games for the Bulldogs this year, helping Wingate rank second in goals-against average during league games while posting six shutouts on the season. He also has a goal and an assist on the year. Hamzic had an assist in the 3-1 victory against Carson-Newman. He scored a goal in the 2-1 win at Tusculum.

Wingate is the number one seed in this week's SAC Tournament. The Bulldogs will face fourth-seeded Lincoln Memorial in the SAC Tournament semifinal action Friday at 5 p.m. in Matthews, N.C. The winner advances to the SAC title match Sunday at 4 p.m. in Matthews.