Zan Vipotnik scoops awards hat-trick at Swansea City Player Awards Evening
Zan Vipotnik scooped a hat-trick, including being named Swansea City Supporters’ Player of the Season for the 2025-26 season, at the club’s annual awards evening.
The Slovenian striker had enjoyed an outstanding campaign, scoring 25 goals in all competitions, while his league tally of 23 is set to win him the Championship’s Golden Boot award.
His exploits saw him come out on top when the Jack Army were asked to vote for their best player of the season, while Vipotnik was also selected as Men’s Players’ Player of the Season by his teammates and, unsurprisingly, scooped the Top Goalscorer prize at the Brangwyn Hall.
The Men’s Best Newcomer prize was claimed by Ethan Galbraith, with the versatile midfielder having enjoyed a superb first season in SA1 having arrived from Leyton Orient last summer.
The Women’s Best Newcomer award went to Eilish Mitchell, who has impressed with her consistent performances in defence and midfield for the Swans.
The Swansea City Women squad chose midfielder Maddy Murray as their Players’ Player of the Season as she helped them secure a third-place finish in the Welsh top-flight and a place in the Welsh Cup final.
Chloe Chivers narrowly beat Aimee Deacon to the Top Goalscorer title, ending the campaign with 19 goals in all competitions, with 16 coming in the league.
The Under-21s’ Player of the Season was Thomas Woodward, with the midfielder enjoying another goal-laden campaign and being named on the bench for the senior side’s recent fixture at Queens Park Rangers having been part of an elite training group within the Swans academy.
Defender Carter Heywood picked up the Academy Player of the Season award after a campaign where the 17-year-old has thrived across all age categories, been a regular for the under-21s and helped the under-18s reach the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup.
Off the field the Swansea City Supporters’ Trust Lifetime Achievement award went to Tony Avo.
A committed and devoted servant of Swansea City for more than three decades, Avo has held a number of roles within the club.
Those have ranged from academy coaching, to playing a part in the signings of the likes of Joe Allen, Connor Roberts and Ollie Cooper, helping with kit provision in the academy and assisting the club’s matchday ball retrieval teams, and the award was deserved recognition for one of Swansea City’s true unsung heroes.
The Alan Curtis award - given to those who have made an outstanding contribution to the club - went Kris O’Leary.
O’Leary recently marked 30 years since he made his senior debut for the Swans at Bradford in March 1996, and in total he would make 334 appearances, experiencing everything from the fight for Football League survival to promotions, play-offs finals and FAW Premier Cup success.
After moving into coaching, O’Leary helped the Swans to League Cup success in 2013 and an eighth-place Premier League finish in 2015, before later returning to the club as part of the academy coaching set-up in 2020.
He was promoted to the first-team staff again in 2021, being involved in two south Wales derby doubles, and continues to as a coach in Vitor Matos’ set-up.
The evening included a vote to decide the club’s Goal of the Season award.
There were a dozen options to choose from following a campaign littered with stunning strikes, but there could only be one winner and was Liam Cullen's long-range strike to seal victory over Stoke City in March.
Last, but certainly not least, Kev Johns, was recognised as the club’s Community Champion for his years of tireless service to the football club and the wider community.
For years Johns has been the voice of the Swans, at the Vetch and the Swansea.com Stadium, but his reach has been felt far beyond the football club, including his work as an ambassador for causes such as the Swansea Bay Health Charity and Maggie’s.
We wish Kev well as he continues to recover from a recent mini-stroke, and we cannot wait to have him back with us at the Swansea.com Stadium next season.
Swansea City would like to thank all its sponsors and partners for their support over the course of the season and of tonight’s event, which was sponsored by Ammcom.
Under-21s’ Player of the Season (sponsored by Shy Sheep) – Thomas Woodward
Academy Player of the Season (sponsored by Joma) – Carter Heywood
Community Champion (sponsored by the Disabled Supporters’ Association) – Kev Johns
Women’s Players’ Player of the Season (sponsored by Owens Group) – Maddy Murray
Women’s Top Goalscorer of the Season (sponsored by Peter Lynn & Partners) – Chloe Chivers
Women’s Best Newcomer (sponsored by Kwiff) – Eilish Mitchell
Men’s Best Newcomer (sponsored by Kwiff) – Ethan Galbraith
Men’s Top Goalscorer of the Season (sponsored by Peter Lynn & Partners) – Zan Vipotnik
Goal of the Season – (sponsored by HGV Drivers) – Winner picked from video shortlist on the night
Men’s Players’ Player of the Season (sponsored by Owens Group) – Zan Vipotnik
Supporters’ Player of the Season (sponsored by Shirgar Welsh Butter) – Zan Vipotnik
Lifetime Achievement Award (sponsored by the Swansea City Supporters’ Trust) – Tony Avo
Alan Curtis Award (sponsored by Aquasafe) – Kris O’Leary