SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Citadel tennis program earned recognition with multiple Southern Conference postseason honors, including a pair of superlative selections with Brady Gober securing the league's Freshman of the Year distinction and Ted Bagwell claiming the Don Bunch / Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award, per an announcement from the conference office Wednesday afternoon. Additionally, Gober tallied two additional accolades, including second-team All-SoCon honors in singles and while also locking down placement on the All-Freshman team.
Gober, a freshman hailing from Buford, Ga., finished the regular season with nine singles wins, including a 4-3 mark in Southern Conference play, and added nine doubles victories alongside Bagwell. Notably, Gober serves as the third Bulldog in program history to register Southern Conference Freshman of the Year recognition and the first since Danny Dossetor in 2005. The first Citadel cadet-athlete recipient came back in 1996 to Cy Scammell.
Meanwhile, Bagwell, a senior from Douglas, Ga., picked up the fifth Southern Conference sportsmanship award in program history and the first since Hayden Shoemaker shared the honor in 2023. Other Citadel recipients include Todd Elias in 1990, Robert Webster in 1991, Eduardo Almada in 2001 and John Williams in 2004.
2026 Southern Conference Player of the Year
Oscar Martinez, ETSU
2026 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year
Brady Gober, The Citadel
2026 Southern Conference Coach of the Year
Ricky Rojas, ETSU
2026 Southern Conference Don Bunch / Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award
Ted Bagwell, The Citadel
2026 All-Southern Conference Men's Tennis
First Team
Singles
- Oscar Martinez, ETSU
- Martin Vergara, ETSU
- Nemanja Stefanovic, Mercer
- Hod'Abalo Isak Padio, Mercer
- Tymofiy Khrystyuk, UNCG
- Jakub Jupa, Chattanooga
Doubles
- Oscar Martinez/Martin Vergara, ETSU
- Hod'Abalo Isak Padio/Nemanja Stefanovic, Mercer
- Darcy Nicholls/Sandeep Mohandoss, Samford
Second Team
Singles
- Brady Gober, The Citadel
- Nico Snyder, Furman
- Sebastian Harrison, Samford
- Sandeep Mohandoss, Samford
- Darcy Nicholls, Samford
- Julian Franzmann, Chattanooga
Doubles
- Nico Snyder/Nicolas Dispas, Furman
- Lukas Dvorak/Cooper Errey, Samford
- Jakub Jupa/Cortland Grove, Chattanooga
All-Freshman Team
- Brady Gober, The Citadel
- Landon Ecarma, Furman
- Finn Pollard, Furman
- Hector Nissen, UNCG
- Lukas Dvorak, Samford
- Val Dubin, Wofford
The 2026 Southern Conference Tennis Championships begin Thursday, April 16 at the Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Citadel, seeded eighth overall, will face top-seeded ETSU at 1 p.m.
To stay up to date with The Citadel tennis program, visit CitadelSports.com and follow the Bulldogs on X and Instagram by searching @CitadelMTen and @citadel_mten.
