Fraser Valley – Mateo Brazinha, a fourth-year forward from UFV, has been named the winner of the Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy as the U SPORTS player of the year in men’s soccer.
After earning conference player of the year honours last season, Mateo Brazinha proved again in 2025-26 why he is the most dangerous offensive player in Canada West. He becomes the first UFV men’s soccer player to win the Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy for U SPORTS Player of the Year, and just the second UFV student-athlete to win U SPORTS player of the year honours. This is Brazinha’s second time being nominated for the award, as well as his second consecutive season of earning First-Team All-Canadian status.
Other players nominated for the prestigious award included Cape Breton’s Max Piepgrass, UQTR’s Alexandre Marcoux, and Trent’s John Moncanda.
The fourth-year UFV Cascades’ striker battled back from preseason injuries to score 13 goals in 13 regular season games and lead the conference. The UFV captain also added a pair of assists to finish tied for the U SPORTS lead in points. Of the 13 regular season matches played, Brazinha posted goals in nine and added four multi-goal games.
The talismanic striker is the first player in UFV history to earn Canada West player of the year honours for a second time, and the first men’s soccer player since UBC’s Aaron Richer in 2002 and 2003 to earn back-to-back Canada West player of the year recognition. Brazinha’s historic season saw him claim Cascades’ program career records for goals (27), assists (12), and points (39).
UFV’s Matheus De Souza also earned national recognition on Wednesday. The goalkeeper was named a U SPORTS Second-Team All-Canadian in just his first year with UFV.
