Shannon, Welsh, and Hodgson Shine Bright with TopDrawerSoccer’s Elite IX Honors

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — TopDrawerSoccer has unveiled its end-of-season accolades for the 2024 cycle. This year, Broncos Christian Shannon, Colin Welsh, and Carson Hodgson received TopDrawerSoccer Best IX acknowledgments for their outstanding performances on the pitch. 

Christian Shannon: Freshman Best IX 

In 21 games (20 starts), the redshirt sophomore defender netted three goals – all of which were game-winners – and provided three assists throughout the season. During Shannon’s first match against #14 University of Vermont on Thursday, August 22, the defender started and scored his inaugural career goal – the game-winner in WMU’s 3-1 triumph. Following his performance against the #14 Catamounts and leading The Brown and Gold to a 1-0 away win over #9 University of New Hampshire, Shannon was named TopDrawerSoccer’s Player of the Week on August 27. Less than a week later, he secured his first career assist in the men’s soccer team’s 5-1 victory against Villanova on September 2. On November 6, Shannon achieved a career-high three points in WMU’s 2-1 clash against UIC after assisting on the initial goal and scoring the game-winner in the 80th minute. In his NCAA Tournament debut on November 21 against SIUE, Shannon netted the decisive goal in the 38th minute, propelling the men’s soccer team into the second round for a program-record third consecutive year. Throughout 2024, Shannon was among three Broncos to log over 1,730 minutes on the field. 

Postseason, Shannon received accolades for his exceptional performance both on the field and in academia. He was honored with MVC All-Freshman Team recognition, College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors, and made the CSC Academic All-America ® Second Team, being one of nine Academic All-Americans with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Recently, on December 12, Shannon was selected for the United Soccer Coaches All-Region Second Team.  

Colin Welsh: Best IX Second Team 

In 2024, Welsh started in all 20 matches for the Broncos, achieving 11 victories (tied for the third most in single-season program history) with four shutouts. In goal, the keeper recorded a goals-against average of 0.99 with 78 saves. During the 2024 season, Welsh’s save percentage of 0.796 led all keepers with at least 1800 minutes played. 

Over the initial 15 games for The Brown and Gold, Welsh boasted a goals allowed average of 0.73, highlighted by four shutouts. This year, the senior demonstrated his defensive skill in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament’s first round against Evansville University on November 10, recording a season-high eight saves. 

At the conference level, Welsh achieved MVC Goalkeeper of the Year honors along with two MVC Defensive Player of the Week awards. Subsequently, he received accolades for his stellar performance in goal, earning a United Soccer Coaches All-America Second Team recognition.  

Due to his performance on the field, on Thursday, December 19, St. Louis City SC selected the goalkeeper in the third round (67th overall) of the MLS SuperDraft.

Carson Hodgson: Best IX Third Team 

This season, Hodgson played all 21 matches for WMU, scoring six goals, including a career-high four game-winners. From the midfield, he recorded eight assists throughout the season, featuring two outings with three assists each.

In the preseason, the junior was included in the United Soccer Coaches Midfielders to Watch List and was placed 40th in TopDrawerSoccer’s Preseason Player Rankings. After netting game-winning goals against #9 Northwestern and Air Force, Hodgson was honored as the MVC Offensive Player of the Week on September 10. 

One month later, on October 22, Hodgson notched a personal best of six points after achieving his first career hat trick in The Brown and Gold’s 4-1 away victory over Detroit Mercy. Following his offensive player of the week accolade, the midfielder was recognized as NCAA Men’s Soccer Player of the Week on October 23 by NCAA Digital after his hat trick in the Broncos’ 4-1 away win against Detroit Mercy. Later, Hodgson was named MVC Offensive Player of the Week and included in TopDrawerSoccer’s Team of the Week on October 29 for his performance against the Titans.

Hodgson’s four game-winners in 2024 rank tied for fourth all-time in single-season program history, while his eight assists this year tie for the sixth most assists recorded in a single season in Bronco history. 

At the end of the 2024 season, Hodgson was honored with a spot on the All-MVC First Team and was selected for the United Soccer Coaches All-America Third Team, recognizing his contributions on the field.

The postseason accolades from TopDrawerSoccer are determined by various factors, which include individual performance, statistical achievements, conference acknowledgments, and team accomplishments.

For all updates regarding WMU men’s soccer, follow the team on Instagram, @wmu_menssoccer, X, @WMUMensSoccer, and Facebook, @wmumenssoccer.