Cal Poly Women’s Soccer’s dominated the 2025 All-Big West awards, led by senior defender Brennan Cole, who won Big West Defensive Player of the Year, and junior forward Annika Smith, who won Big West Offensive Player of the Year.
In their comeback season with new head coach Bernardo Silva, Cal Poly Women’s Soccer took home six All-Big West awards, the second most in program history. The 2025 season will go down in the record books as the first time that the Mustangs have taken home both Big West OPOY and DPOY in the same year.
Cole, Smith and graduate transfer midfielder Madelyn Dougherty secured All-Big West First Team nods, while senior forward Jessie Halladay and senior defender Camryn Penn earned All-Big West Second Team and Honorable Mention awards respectively.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Shannon Porubski continues to make a name for herself during her breakout season as she took home a Big West All-Freshman Team honor.
This was only the second time in program history that a Mustang has been given to each of the four awards, the previous year being 2023.
It has been over 12 years since a Mustang has won the Big West OPOY award, the last recipient being Elise Krieghoff in 2013, making Smith’s honor a historic one for the program.
Cole now joins seven former Mustangs with her DPOY honor, with the most recent winner being 2023 recipient Emma Brown.
Cole has been an iron horse for the Mustangs this season, playing more minutes than any other player this season with 1664, over 100 more than the player with the second-most minutes, redshirt junior midfielder Sophia Minnite. Cole only sat for five minutes during all 10 games of conference play.
Leading the backline to eight shutouts in the regular season, Cole has been the defensive standout for Cal Poly, but she has also contributed to offense, scoring three goals and adding one assist.
On the other end of the field, OPOY award winner Smith has been an attacking force this season, tallying up three assists and scoring seven goals. Three of those goals were game winners – and all of them came during Big West Conference play.
Smith sits in what is now a four-way tie for the most goals scored in the Big West this season. Her teammate, Halladay, is also among the leaders. For over three weeks now, the pair have sat at seven goals, going scoreless since Smith’s brace against Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 12 and allowing players from other schools to match their conference-leading mark.
Halladay, notably, earned All-Big West honors as she was named to the Second Team this season. This is a step up from last season, where she was selected as a 2024 All-Big West Honorable Mention.
Beyond her seven goals this season, the All-Big West Second Team member had four assists and racked up 18 points in the individual Big West standings, just one point shy of first.
Another offensive threat receiving a nod from the Big West is Dougherty. In her first season in the Big West, she was named to the All-Big West First Team after leading the conference in assists with eight, and scoring five goals this season.
Dougherty draws parallels to her fellow Cal Poly award-winners, as she and Smith both have recorded three game winning goals in matches throughout the season. Her and Halladay both also sit with 18 total points this season.
While Cole has led the charge defensively for the Mustangs, she is not the only defensive member of this Cal Poly team honored in the awards.
Earning an all-conference nod for the third time in her career, Penn was selected as an All-Big West Honorable Mention after holding down the outside wings and notching both a goal and an assist.
This is the second time Penn has received this honor, with the other time being in 2023. She was also named to the 2024 Big West All-Academic Team and the 2022 Big West All-Freshman Team.
The final Mustang to receive Big West All-Freshman team honors this season was Porubski. This comes as no surprise since she has been a favorite for Big West awards this season, collecting four Big West Freshman of the Week honors and one Big West Defensive Player of the Week honor.
Porubski was the keeper in all eight of Cal Poly’s wins this season, securing five shutouts and playing every minute during Big West Conference play. Once she was named the starter midway through the season, she anchored the Mustangs to eight wins, four draws, and only two losses.
Though the team boasts several All-Big West recognitions, the Mustangs are aiming higher as they pursue another team title. Their quest to a Big West Championship continues as they take on Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, Nov. 6 in Spanos Stadium.