TAMPA, Fla. – USL League One today announced the five nominees for the League One Player of the Month award for July, with top performers from the season’s fourth month selected for the ballot.

Voting for the League One Player of the Month Award will be conducted by the following two voting bodies:

• A fan vote on USLLeagueOne.com will comprise 60 percent of the poll. The fan vote will run through Monday, August 8 at 12:30 p.m. ET.

• The USL Technical Committee’s ballots comprise 40 percent of the poll.

The award winner and complete voting results will be announced on Wednesday, August 10.

Please note: The League One Player of the Month selection process in no way is tied directly to the voting and selection process of End of the Year awards such as League One Most Valuable Player or position players of the year.

USL LEAGUE ONE PLAYER OF THE MONTH – JUly

Khori Bennett, Charlotte Independence – Bennett recorded his first professional hat trick and the second quickest in league history on July 30 against Fuego FC. In total, Bennett scored four times, recorded one match-winning goal and helped his side to a 2-1-2 record in July.

Gabriel Cabral, South Georgia Tormenta FC – The 2021 South Georgia Tormenta FC 2 graduate notched his first professional goal and assist early in July before totaling three goals and three assists across six July fixtures. Cabral also added 12 chances created and one match-winner to help Tormenta FC to a league-high four wins and 13 points in July.

Chris Hegardt, Charlotte Independence – Appearing in three of Charlotte’s five July fixtures, Hegardt made the most of his time on the pitch as the Charlotte FC loanee scored once and tallied a league-high four assists to help the Jacks to a pair of wins to end the month. Along with seven key passes and one match-winner, Hegardt maintained 100% shooting accuracy and 92% passing accuracy. His 1.46 assists per 90 minutes nearly tripled the next highest mark across the league in July.

Jacob Labovitz, Greenville Triumph SC – The only June Player of the Month candidate to reprise his role as a nominee in July, Labovitz exploded for a league-high six goals across six matches. The first-year professional registered one hat trick, one brace, one assist, one match-winning goal and sent eight shots on frame. His 3.80 goals minus expected goals and 1.24 goals per 90 minutes led the league in July.

Kazaiah Sterling, South Georgia Tormenta FC – The former England youth international is having a career renaissance in Statesboro with a personal-best five goals in a single month to go along with two assists and nine shots on target. Sterling helped Tormenta FC on to a league-high 13 points with a pair of braces and one match-winning goal. His 3.63 expected goals mark led the league in July.