KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The United Soccer Coaches began announcing its Players to Watch List on Friday by naming the top men's and women's goalkeepers returning for the 2026 campaign. UC Santa Barbara sophomore Owen Beninga is one of the eight men's netminders listed after setting the Gauchos' single-season goals-against average record with a mark of 0.52 and earning All Far-West Region honors.
 
Poised to be Santa Barbara's first-choice keeper from the start in 2026, Beninga is set to continue an ascension that started midway through the 2025 campaign. The 6-foot-4 New England Revolution Academy product did not make his collegiate debut until September last season but still managed to make an entrance, keeping clean sheets in each of his first five games. That streak included a commanding performance in the Blue-Green Rivalry against Cal Poly, for which he earned Big West Freshman and Defensive Player of the Week honors simultaneously. In total, Beninga kept seven shutouts across his 12 starts as a freshman and finished the regular season ranked 32^nd among all qualified NCAA goalies in total clean sheets, fourth in goals-against average and second in save percentage.
 
Beninga is the only underclassman on the eight-man Goalkeepers to Watch List. He and the Gauchos play two preseason exhibitions — the Blue/Gold Scrimmage and a friendly against LMU — at home at Harder Stadium before opening the season in earnest by hosting San Jose State on Aug. 21. Season and single-game tickets are available now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets.