ITHACA, N.Y. -- Senior midfielder Connor Miller is one of 27 Division I men's soccer players named to the 2026 Hermann Trophy Watch List as National Player of the Year. Miller, a two-time United Soccer Coaches All-American, is the lone Ivy League representative on the preseason list.

Presented annually by the Missouri Athletic Club, The Hermann Trophy is the nation's highest individual honor as determined by voting of Division I head coaches who are members of United Soccer Coaches. It is named in honor of the late Robert Hermann, the legendary St. Louis, Mo., businessman and soccer executive who founded the National Professional Soccer League, the first pro soccer league in the United States which became the North American Soccer League. He was inducted in the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2012.

Miller enters his senior season as one of the most decorated players in program history. A three-time first-team All-Ivy selection, he earned United Soccer Coaches third team All-America honors as a junior in 2025 after appearing in all 20 matches and posting 14 points on four goals and a team-high six assists, including a game-winning goal, en route to All-Northeast Region recognition. As a sophomore in 2024, Miller started all 18 games he played, was named a third team All-American, first team All-Ivy, second team All-ECAC and first team all-region while leading the Ivy League in assists with nine and finishing with 17 points. He broke out as a freshman in 2023, earning first-team All-Ivy honors after registering five points on one goal and three assists in 15 appearances, highlighted by the game-winner against Binghamton. For his career, Miller has appeared in 53 matches with 52 starts, totaling nine goals, 18 assists and 36 points -- his 18 career assists are tied for second all-time at Cornell.

The 2026 watch list was compiled by members of the Division I Men's All-America Council from a list of returning 2025 All-Americans and first team all-region players. A total of 15 players will be named 2026 Hermann Trophy semifinalists on December 4 at the conclusion of NCAA Division I All-American voting. From that list, three players will be named finalists. The 2026 recipient will be announced January 8, 2027, in a ceremony at the historic Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis, Mo.