Callum Niven and Luke Butcher won the 2025 Kansas Jayhawk Conference Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively, for the Neosho County Panthers as the KJCCC released its all-conference soccer awards on Thursday.
“It signifies the season we’ve had,” Neosho County head coach Elliot Chadderton said. “We’ve scored in every game we’ve played and we don’t concede a ton of goals. We’re lucky that we’ve got a leader up front and a leader in the back.”
Niven, an NJCAA First Team All-American as a freshman and Neosho County’s all-time leader in goals, secured the KJCCC honor for the second year in a row.
Niven claimed the scoring title in the conference with 14 goals in 16 games, including four multi-goal contests.
“He’s had another good year and he’s put the ball in the back of the net when we needed,” Chadderton said. “One of the misconceptions people have is that people look at Callum and his goals. But he can press from the front. He sets the tone. That’s not just on gamedays. That’s in training and that’s what you need to be successful.”
Butcher is a sophomore who’s been a staple of Neosho County’s defense. The Panthers conceded 13 goals in the regular season and posted six shutouts.
“One of the main things is that he learned a lot from his freshman year,” Chadderton said. “He got a lot of playing time and saw a lot of success. So he stepped up and used those experiences this year. He’s a leader. He’s got professionalism. He looks after his body, takes things seriously, gets good grades and does things the right way. There’s not another player that does things the way he does.”
Neosho County, which was upset by Johnson County in the NJCAA region final on Saturday, now awaits a decision on whether or not it’ll receive an at-large berth to the Division II national tournament in Wichita.
The Panthers are currently 14-1-3 overall — the loss to Johnson County was their first defeat of the campaign — and ranked No. 4 in the country.
“It’s still all up in the air,” Chadderton said. “We started training on Wednesday and we have to prepare as though we’re going. It’s important that we train properly. I’m looking to lift the spirits and get the guys flying again. We can’t afford to take a week off and expect guys to just show up at the national tournament. We’re preparing as though we’re going to go. At the end of the day, it’s out of our control. It’s down to the committee’s decision. If we don’t go, I’ll be really disappointed. But that’s what happens when you leave it up to other people.”
2025 All-KJCCC Men’s Soccer Division II First Team
Michael Bernabe, Johnson County Peyton McCawley, Johnson County Luke Butcher, Neosho County Lucas Comitre, Neosho County Welile Mweli, Allen Kho Woods, Johnson County Natan Masi, Kansas City Kansas Tayo Adedoja, Pratt Keane Hazeldine, Neosho County Callum Niven, Neosho County Kael Drummond, Johnson County Ben Points, Johnson County Zak ElHannach, Neosho County Yuki Suzuki, Neosho County Daniel Wozniak, Johnson County
Second Team
Jeohvah Djimtotinine, Allen Alan Nataren, Kansas City Kansas Chris Armitage, Neosho County Freddi Fenten, Pratt Conor Meyers, Johnson County Andres Tamayo, Kansas City Kansas Aquil Lawlilte, Allen Gonzalo Lopez, Allen Patrick Matosevic, Kansas City Kansas Damon Walter, Kansas City Kansas Josh Bogan, Neosho County
