Rian Marques named MVP, among five Comets in MASL Awards

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Comets forward Rian Marques has been named the 2025-26 Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) Most Valuable Player, the league has announced alongside other awards on Monday evening.

Marques becomes the sixth MVP in the more than four decades of Kansas City indoor soccer history and the fourth in the modern Comets franchise era. He follows in the footsteps most recently paved by legendary Comets forward Leo Gibson, who earned MASL MVP honors in the 2014-15 season.

Rian Marques - MASL MVP; All-MASL Elite Six

In his sixth season with the Comets, Marques delivered the most productive scoring campaign of his career. The 29-year-old was crowned as the MASL Scoring Champion with a league-leading 52 points (29 goals, 23 assists) in 21 games, while posting a league-best 2.5 points per game.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound target also tied for the Passmaster Award with 23 assists and finished second in the league in goals while showing quality in front of goal with a scoring percentage of 33%. Marques, who was a 2025 MASL All-Star, has also been selected to the 2025-26 All-MASL Elite Six for the first time in his career.

A native of Itabuna, Brazil, Marques joined the Comets in 2021 out of Central Methodist University. He immediately made an impact as he was named to the All-MASL Rookie Team, helping the Comets to back-to-back MASL Semifinal appearances before a trip to the 2024 MASL Finals. Marques had a breakout season in 2024-25, tallying 44 points (24 goals, 20 assists) before surpassing those numbers this season.

Marques was involved in 42% of all Comets goals this season and was the only player in the MASL to finish top-three in points, goals, assists and points per game. Marques now joins an elite club of MVP winners, which includes Gibson (2014-15), Geison Moura (2011-12), Byron Alvarez (2010-11) and Dino Delevski (2001-02 and 2002-03).

Chad Vandegriffe - All-MASL First Team

Chad Vandegriffe was named All-MASL First Team after leading the league in blocks for the second consecutive season.

Vandegriffe, who was also a finalist for Defender of the Year, became the league’s all-time leading shotblocker this season. He concluded his 12th season in the MASL with 67 blocks, bringing his career total to 449.

With 11 games logging four or more blocks, Vandegriffe averaged 3.19 blocks per game with a goal and four assists. The St. Louis native finished his third season with the Comets, earning his sixth consecutive All-MASL honor.

Zach Reget - All-MASL First Team

Zach Reget returns to the All-MASL First Team for the second time in three years, previously earning a spot on the All-MASL Elite Six in 2023-24.

The captain had the third 40-point season of his career, tallying 43 points (27 goals, 16 assists) while setting a career-high in assists. Reget finished third across the league in both points and goals.

In his third full season as a Comet, the Kenosha, Wisconsin native remained a critical role in the Comets’ offense with a formidable attacking unity that included himself, Marques and Dominic Francis. Reget tallied three hat tricks and had 13 multi-point games.

Phillip Ejimadu - All-MASL Second Team

Goalkeeper Phillip Ejimadu earns his second consecutive All-MASL honor after setting a career-high with 232 saves.

In his second year as the Comets’ primary goalkeeper, Ejimadu won 11 games to match his career-high wins total from last season. Ejimadu stopped 66% of shots faced after playing more than 1,135 minutes.

The Minneapolis, Minnesota native also used his arm and feet to contribute on the offensive end with four assists. He was in the top three in saves and wins.

Lesia Thetsane - All-MASL Second Team

Lesia Thetsane had a career year on both ends of the turf this season, earning his first All-MASL honor in his fourth season in the MASL.

The Lesotho native had a career-high 19 goals in the attack and 32 blocks on the defensive end. Thetsane recorded three hat tricks, including a four-goal performance on March 21 in a win against the Baltimore Blast.

Thetsane’s breakout season this year included a blistering shooting percentage of 35%, averaging 1.1 points per game for the first time in his career.