CANTON, Ga. - Junior Zara McCarthy has been named the 2026 Southern Athletic Association Women's Soccer Offensive Athlete of the Year, as announced by conference officials on Tuesday.

Head Coach Jay Hoffman, along with assistants JK Gonzalez, and Shjon Ripy were also named the SAA Coaching Staff of the Year. The Colonels finished the regular season 7-0-1 in league play to capture the outright regular season title for the first time since 2021. It is the first coaching honor for Hoffman since winning Coach of the Year from 2018-2021.

McCarthy earned her honor after leading the Colonels in scoring with 11 goals. That mark was tied for the most overall in the SAA. She also scored 7 goals against SAA opponents, more than anyone else in the conference. McCarthy was named Athlete of the Week four times during the regular season, and at one point had a 5-game goal streak. Her 25 total points were the most in the SAA and 16 more than anyone else on the Centre roster. She also had 3 game-winning goals, tied for 3rd most in the conference. She became the 1st Colonel to win Offensive Athlete of the Year since Mills Mullen in 2022.

She was named to the 1st Team All-Conference along with 2 teammates. Brooke Beasley earned the nod after a brilliant season at centerback, leading a defense that held opponents to less than one goal per game on the year. She played the most minutes of any non-goalie on the team with 1343. Ellery Taylor also earned 1st Team honors after a brilliant freshman season. She scored 4 goals along with an assist while playing over 1100 minutes, primarily in the defensive midfield.

Goalkeeper Madeline Redmon earned 2nd Team honors after posting an 11-2-3 regular season record. She had a GAA of 0.98 to go with 4 shutouts while stopping 36 shots in a team-leading 1383 minutes. Claire Cavacini earned 2nd Team honors after a 1 goal, 4 assist regular season to go with strong two-way play throughout the campaign. Freshman Savannah Mooney was also named 2nd Team. The brilliant rightback for the Colonels scored 1 goal with 2 assists in 1098 minutes as a starter in 15 of 16 appearances.

Tessa Miles, Claire Mullen, and Aida Bell all received Honorable Mention nods. Miles made the transition from the midfield to centerback this season and anchored Centre's strong defense. She also scored a goal and added 2 assists in 1127 minutes. Mullen received the honor after a strong season in the midfield as a key piece of the Centre defense and counterattacking game. Bell moved to the forward line in 2026 and tallied 4 goals with 1 assist, including 2 game-winners.

Ashtyn Warner was named to the All-Sportsmanship team as she went through the entire season without drawing a single card.

For the complete list of SAA honorees, click here.