Five Bulldogs Named on Big South Conference Preseason Players to Watch List

FULL BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE RELEASE

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Five UNC Asheville Men's Soccer players were named on the Big South Conference's Preseason Players to Watch List, announced by the league today (Tuesday, Aug. 11).

Senior forward Tyler Ware, Sophomore forward Arnor Hardarson, senior midfielder Charlie Wood, senior defender Lennart Granzow and redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Lucca Barros earned a spot on the list for the Bulldogs.

Ware joins the Bulldogs after transferring from UNLV.

Ware is a native of Hooper, Utah and is a business major.

Hardarson appeared in all 16 matches as a freshman including 13 starts as a freshman. He totaled four goals and three assists on the season for 11 points and tallied his first career assist in the season-opening win over Howard on Aug. 21. He also tallied an assist in the win over Georgia State (Aug. 26) and scored his first two goals in the win over Bellarmine on Sept. 6 later named Big South Conference Co-Freshman of the Week. He tallied an assist at Longwood on Oct. 12, while also scoring a goal against Gardner-Webb on Nov. 1...Totaled 1,010 minutes on the pitch including a season-high 82 minutes against Presbyterian on Oct. 18.

Hardarson is a native of Kopavogur, Iceland and is a business major.

Wood was named to the Big South Conference Top Returners Watch List prior to the start of last season, and played and started in all 16 matches as a sophomore He totaled one goal and two assists for four points on the season. He totaled three points with a goal and an assist in the season-opening win over Howard on Aug. 21, before tallying an assist in the win over Georgia State on Aug. 26. Wood also totaled 1,383 minutes on the pitch, including playing all 90 minutes 13 times on the year.He was also named to the Big South Conference Midseason Watch List, as well as a 2025 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selection.

Wood is a native of Addingham, U.K., and is a health science major.

Granzow appeared in 15 matches making 12 starts in his first season in Asheville. He scored three goals for six points on the year, while also totaling 11 shots from the back line. He scored his first goal of the season at East Tennessee State (Sept. 16), while also scoring a goal against Radford (Sept. 27) and at Winthrop on Oct. 25. Granzow totaled 1,158 minutes on the pitch including playing all 90 minutes in 12 straight matches to end the season. He was an All-Conference First Team At-Large selection, named to the 2025 Big South Conference All-Academic Team and was also a 2025 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selection.

Granzow is a native of Hamburg, Germany and is a business administration major.

Barros played every minute of all 16 matches between the pipes last season, totaling 1,440 minutes. He posted a 1.50 Goals Against Average along with a .600 save percentage and 36 saves. Barros posted his first career shutout at Wofford on Sept. 9, earning his first career Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Week honor. He was later named to the Big South Conference Midseason Watch List, and also made a career-high eight saves in the regular season finale against Gardner-Webb on Nov. 1.

Barros is a native of Mint Hill, N.C. and is a double major in business and mass communication.

The Bulldogs open the 2026 campaign next Thursday (Aug. 20) at home against Northern Kentucky for the Greenwood Beach Party. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. from Greenwood Field, with video and live stats available at www.uncabulldogs.com.

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Five Bulldogs Named on Big South Conference Preseason Players to Watch List

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Players Mentioned

Lucca Barros

Lennart Granzow

Arnor Hardarson

Tyler Ware

Charlie Wood

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