As the Southern Athletic Association regular season came to a close this past weekend, the Trinity Tigers capped off their campaign by falling just short in the regular season title fight to Southwestern University. Following their second place finish, the SAA announced its 2026 All-Conference Teams, and the Tigers unsurprisingly led the way with eleven total selections, highlighting the strength in depth of the Tigers' 2026 squad.
 
SAA First Team
 
The Tigers placed three players onto the All-SAA First Team. These included senior Luke Mayfield (Dallas, Texas / JJ Pearce), sophomore Eduardo Parra (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma / Casady School), and graduate student Cade Dougan (Austin, Texas / St. Stephen's Episcopal), each of whom have played an instrumental role in Trinity's season. Mayfield overcame an early season injury to build on his 2024 and 2025 Honorable Mentions with an excellent campaign, anchoring a defense that shut out the opposition in six of eight conference games and finished regular season play with an undefeated 6-0-2 record, while also adding two game-winning goals. Parra, who's also been included in the SAA All-Sportsmanship Team, led the SAA in scoring with ten goals in only 582 minutes, spearheading the Tigers' offense with his clinical finishing and relentless work rate. For Dougan this means back-to-back All-SAA First Team selections, as he continues to be the heartbeat of the Trinity midfield, and an ever-present figure whose composure and intelligence link the team's defensive solidity with its attacking creativity.
 
SAA Second Team
 
The Tigers also placed three players onto the All-SAA Second Team. These included senior Ethan Cowdrey (Crawley, England / Ardingly College), and juniors Daniel Urquidi (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) and Julian Lopez (Austin, Texas / St. Stephen's Episcopal). Prior to injury, Cowdrey was a stonewall at the back, contributing to a defense that shut out the opposition in six of eight conference games and finished regular season play with an undefeated 6-0-2 record. Urquidi, Trinity's most versatile player, built on his 2025 All-SAA Honorable Mention with an excellent campaign that saw him perform at both ends of the field, contributing to the brilliant defensive record as well as two goals and an assist. This highlights Lopez's second successive season on the Second Team, in a regular season that demonstrated his dominance in the center of the park, starting seven of eight conference games, and assisting twice. 
 
SAA Honorable Mentions
 
The Tigers received a conference high five Honorable Mentions, further underscoring the depth and balance of this year's squad. Sophomores Hodge MacDonald (Hertford, England / Haileybury) and Thomas Kay (Stansted Mountfitchet, England / The Bishop's Stortford), junior Alex Baltov (Shreveport, Louisiana / Caddo Parish Magnet), and seniors Jayden Schell (Dallas, Texas / Plano) and Finnegan Saunders (Albuquerque, New Mexico / Sandia Prep) all earned recognition for their contributions. MacDonald, featuring as a makeshift striker, started eleven of seventeen regular season games, adding three goals and four assists, and providing the constant physical presence up top needed out of a Trinity number nine. Kay, a crucial component of Trinity's midfield, also started eleven of seventeen regular season games, providing stability, leadership, an assist and a goal of the season contender away at Sewanee University. Baltov, a now back-to-back All-SAA Honorable Mention, started nine of seventeen matches this year, contributing a goal and three assists from left back. Goalkeeper Schell has followed up an outstanding first year at Trinity, with his second consecutive All-SAA Honorable Mention, recording shutouts in six of eight SAA matches and delivering MVP-caliber performances in numerous games. Finally, fellow senior Saunders has been the go to super-sub off the bench in every outing this season, bringing in that senior experience and terrier like energy to the midfield, as well as notching two goals and an assist. 
 
With eleven total All-SAA honorees, the Tigers reaffirm their position as one of the nation's most complete and balanced teams. Their blend of veteran leadership, rising young talent, and collective consistency is the bedrock of a team that is hitting their stride as they enter post season play.