Barnard caps off brilliant soccer career as USCA All-Region honoree

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In any form of life, it takes a great deal of discipline to not only succeed in multiple facets individually, but empower others to succeed from a team perspective as well.

A three-sport athlete who is easily one of South Webster’s greatest soccer players, if not the greatest soccer player, in program history, but also a talented basketball and baseball hand and a member of the Jeeps’ National Honor Society, Hunter Barnard is, without question, a worker.

And, as a hard worker, he’s also a winner.

That’s evidenced by the obvious academic work that comes with being a National Honor Society inductee, as well as being part of varsity squads who have already appeared in seven regional tournaments and a state semifinal with Barnard’s senior basketball and baseball campaigns still to be played out.

So it comes as no surprise to see that the senior was recognized as a USCA All-Region honoree in the sport of soccer, as announced earlier in the winter by USCA national officials.

The winning qualities that Barnard has obtained — those that have allowed him to excel at the highest levels inside the state realm from an OHSAA standpoint individually while being a key leader and steady figure for not only his team and school, but the Village of South Webster — is one that he credits to those closest to him.

“I’d like to thank God for giving me the opportunity to do what I love the past four years,” Barnard said. “I also want to thank my family, friends, teammates, and coaches who have supported me and pushed me to be better every single day. Being named as an All-Region player from a soccer standpoint is such a blessing and it really means a lot. When I began my high school career, being named an All-Ohio player was never a thought in my mind, let alone All-Region. This accomplishment is as much of an award to the guys beside me as it is an award for myself. None of this would be possible without the great group of guys I’ve had with me.”

A sincere individual in every aspect, it’s clear that Barnard has taken everything he’s pursued in life to heart.

That includes upholding the legacy of those that have come before him on the soccer pitch, and even exceeding them.

A key contributor in a complimentary role as a freshman on the soccer pitch, Barnard helped South Webster immediately by scoring six goals on an already established group as a freshman, helping the Jeeps go 11-6-2 and advance to the district semifinals in the process.

Noticing his potential early on in a strong freshman season, veteran head coach Corey Claxon responded by moving Barnard to striker as a sophomore.

And for the next three seasons, that’s where Barnard stayed — en route to ripping off an all-time great soccer career.

Catching serious stride in the back end of Barnard’s sophomore season, South Webster went a solid 6-3 as Barnard adjusted in his feature role, then really turned up the heat in the season’s second half as the Jeeps went on an absolute tear, going 10-0-2 while winning five games by two goals or less behind the sophomore’s efficient goal-scoring — which resulted in 25 goals — and his poise.

The highlight of the season, and the favorite memory of Barnard’s high school soccer career, was what occurred when South Webster made it to regional competition.

Following a district run where the Jeeps outscored their opponents by a 15-1 margin, South Webster set itself up with a regional semifinal rematch against Wheelersburg, who had defeated the Jeeps by 2-1 and 6-0 margins on Aug. 24 and Sept. 19, respectively.

Barnard and South Webster, however, flipped the script in the OHSAA Division III Regional Semifinal, taking Wheelersburg to overtime in a OHSAA Division III Regional Semifinal on Nov. 1.

In that game, Barnard scored the winning goal in overtime, beating the Pirates by scoring on a header from a Tyler Sommer pass to send South Webster to its second OHSAA Regional Championship Game in five seasons with the thrilling 1-0 victory.

“I’ve had so many great memories playing soccer at South Webster, but my favorite has to be when I scored the game winning goal in golden goal versus Wheelersburg in the Sweet 16 my sophomore year,” Barnard said. “The atmosphere was amazing and the temperature eventually dropped below freezing during the game. The game was tied 0-0 and Tyler Sommer sent a ball over the top and I ran onto it and headed the ball over Wheelersburg’s goalkeeper. It was such a surreal moment, especially when everyone rushed the field, and it is by far my favorite memory.”

A star was already born well before that game-winner that certainly ranks among the greatest plays in South Webster boys soccer history, but it was that goal that served as the launching pad to a legendary career.

In his junior and senior seasons in 2024 and 2025, Barnard scored 45 and 49 goals, respectively, to set the single-season, and then eventually, career goals record with 125 goals at South Webster.

Barnard’s success individually was a huge boon for the Jeeps, who again enjoyed a strong second half in 2024 as South Webster followed a 5-3-1 start by winning 10 out of its last 12 matches, including a 4-2 victory over fellow SOC, district and regional power Minford, and outscoring its opponents 14-0 in its first three playoff matches before falling to the Falcons, who eventually reached the state finals, in a tight 1-0 loss in the regional semifinals.

This set up another great year in 2025, where South Webster ultimately went 16-2-3 with its only ties coming to OHSAA Final Four competitor Wheelersburg as well as road matches against Jackson and Unioto, and its only losses at Wheelersburg and in the OHSAA regional semifinals against North Adams.

The success capped off a four-year career where Barnard ultimately helped South Webster go 58-17-8 — a winning percentage of nearly 75 percent during his four seasons.

For Barnard, that’s as much about what his teammates have provided as what he has done individually.

“My teammates deserve just as much credit for our team success as I do,” Barnard said. “To start, Carson Coriell has been up front with me the last two years, and I wouldn’t have half the goals I do if it wasn’t for him creating opportunities for us up front. He always finds ways to make something happen and I think he doesn’t get the credit he deserves for our success. If it wasn’t for guys like Brycin McClintic, Benaiah Andrews, Seth Hughes, and Jacob McGraw in the midfield we wouldn’t be able to get the ball up front to create opportunities in the first place. They do such a great job at winning the ball, controlling it, and playing the ball into space for Carson and I to run onto for opportunities. There’s not enough words I can say about our defense this past year. Cole Bennett, Brayden Barnard, Caden Johnson, Jared Phelps, and our goalie Sam Murphy were rock solid all year and it made it easy for us offensive guys to focus on scoring because we didn’t have to worry about the defensive side of the ball at all. I’ve played with this group of guys my entire life and I’d do just about anything to suit up one more time with them and play another 80 minutes.”

And of course, it certainly helps that South Webster has a trusted leader at the helm. Since full-season records were kept by the OSSCA beginning in 2004, the Jeeps have had just one losing season in the last 22 campaigns, and have gone an incredible 303-86-41 during that stretch of time.

“South Webster soccer has always been an outstanding program,” Barnard said. “(Corey) Claxon and the rest of the staff always do a great job in putting the best lineup on the field to win. The players deserve a lot of credit too because everyone buys in and really takes the hard work mentality to the next level. The community of South Webster also deserves a lot of credit because it seems like no matter who we play the fans always show up and that means a lot to us players.”

“Playing for Coach Claxon has been such a blessing over the past four years,” Barnard continued. “He has always pushed me to be better, not only in soccer, but in life. I think he does this with all of his players, and it really shows if you pay attention to how we carry ourselves. He’s always been a coach I can go up and have a conversation with about how I’m feeling about a certain formation or lineup, and he always listens and takes players’ suggestions into consideration. Coach Claxon is one of the best coaches in all of Ohio, and he has the wins and statistics to prove it, and I have no doubt he will continue to have success in the future.”

However, Barnard hasn’t just excelled as the main figure on a team, but as a complimentary piece, as well.

Playing nicely alongside South Webster’s lead duo of Dylan Shupert and Eli Roberts over the past couple of seasons on the hardwood en route to leading the Jeeps to a 65-18 overall record in Barnard’s first three seasons of play, which has included a OHSAA Division IV Regional Final appearance in the 2023-24 season and a OHSAA Division IV State Semifinal showing in 2024-25, Barnard, along with fellow senior teammate Brycin McClintic, have taken on lead roles this season and have helped lead South Webster out to a 6-1 start to begin the 2025-26 campaign.

In baseball, South Webster has enjoyed similar success with Barnard on the roster, advancing to the regional semis in 2023 and the regional finals in 2025.

“Playing multiple sports has been such a blessing to me and has really shaped me into the person I am today,” Barnard said. “I’ve had people ask me, ‘If you could focus on just one sport, what would it be?’ I always tell them that I could never just focus on one because I enjoy them all too much. Being a three-sport athlete helps me stay in shape all year round and allows me to hit the next season with a stride. I’ve felt like this has been a huge part of my success because it allows me to focus more on the fundamentals of a certain sport rather than worrying about conditioning. Being a three-sport athlete has also taught me how to manage my time efficiently. I learned that I cannot do everything all the time, so I had to manage my extracurriculars and hobbies around school and sports. I realized that sometimes I had to sacrifice what I wanted in the moment to get what I wanted in the future. Overall, playing multiple sports in high school has been more beneficial to me than I’ll ever even know, and I would encourage others to do the same.”

Having already advanced to seven regional tournaments in his high school career while maintaining a high grade point average with his heavy workload academically, Barnard, who plans to go to Ohio University to obtain a degree in civil engineering, wants to not only make it nine regional tournament appearances — and hopefully farther — but also contend for valedictorian honors academically.

But as much as Hunter Barnard has accomplished with four months still left until his high school graduation, who could blame him?

“I’m currently in basketball season, and I want to win another district championship to make it three in a row,” Barnard said. “As far as baseball season, I want to make it to the state tournament. We were very close last year and I have no doubt that our team this year is not only more than capable of making a state tournament run, but capable of winning it all. Academically, I would like to finish as one of the valedictorians of the class as I am in the running for it right now. Most importantly though, I want to end my senior year as someone that younger kids can look up to, not only in sports and school, but as a person. My time at South Webster has been an amazing journey and I wouldn’t trade the friends I’ve made or the memories gained for anything.”

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