The Ohio Valley Conference announced Tuesday morning that Senior Defender Luke Neely has won the OVC Defender of the Week following his performances against UTRGV and Western Illinois this past week. Neely has now earned the award twice during the 2026 season, while Lindenwood has claimed three of the last four OVC Defender of the Week honors.

Neely anchored a Lindenwood backline that allowed just two goals during the week, tying for the fewest goals allowed by any team in the OVC. The senior from Whitehouse, Texas also scored his first goal of the season in Thursday's 3-1 victory over UTRGV before adding an assist on the Lions' lone goal in Sunday's 1-1 draw against Western Illinois to finish the week with three points.

Neely played all 180 minutes across the two matches last week and leads Lindenwood's defensive unit with 1,115 minutes played. The Senior has logged all 90 minutes in 11 of the Lions' 13 matches this season and his five points recorded so far (one goal, three assists) marks a new single-season career high.

Neely and the Lions will return to action this week for two OVC matchups on the road against SIUE and Southern Indiana. Thursday's match against SIUE is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, followed by a 3 p.m. kickoff on Sunday afternoon in Evansville, Indiana. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.