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The 2025 season was far from the one that the Troup boys soccer team was looking for, missing the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade while dealing with coaching turnover. Through it all, two players found a way to strive and earn individual honors. Freshly graduated Yuri Kim earned a spot on the GACA All-State second team while senior defender Austen Snellings earned an honorable mention nod.

“These are the two guys you had to gameplan for when you played Troup last year,” Troup head soccer coach Mike Townson said. “It’s great for our program to get two guys recognized like this.”

While Townson was not on staff last year, he got to witness Snellings and Kim firsthand as the head coach of Trinity Christian, a region rival of Troup. Townson was so impressed by Kim’s performances that he voted for him as the Region 2-3A player of the year before he even took the job at Troup.

“Yuri was the player that we would be focused on going into the game; he’s such a special player,” Townson said. “I remember playing against him two years ago, and he just absolutely shredded us. I wish he wasn’t going so far away, I’d love to have him around the program. He’s such a high-character kid with a high soccer IQ.”

Kim led the Tigers with six goals and two assists and was a constant thorn in the side of any opponent he went up against. Kim passed on offers to play in college to attend the Air Force Academy, where Townson and Troup High athletic director Kevin Hobbs, who served as interim coach in 2025, are hoping he will try to walk on to the soccer team.

Snellings, on the other hand, will be one of the key pieces for Townson to build around in his first season as head coach. Snellings has been a towering figure in defense, but Townson might end up deploying the 6’6 Snellings in other spots on the field.

“I know he’s been a rock in the back and a real leader in defense, but we might try him some at striker this season,” Townson said. “He’s a big, fast physical kid that can play just about anywhere we ask him to.”

With Kim out of the equation, Snellings will be relied on even more next season to be a leader for the team.

“We are going to need him to be even more of a vocal leader, that’s what I’ve challenged him to do, and I think he will be up for the challenge,” Townson said.

The two players played in the GACA All-State game on June 1.