California Golden Bears Athletics
Kingston Lopa becomes third Cal player to be awarded the Bednarik weekly recognition.
Photo by: Max Wood/Cal Football
Lopa Tabbed Bednarik National Player Of The Week
9/15/2026 9:00 AM | Football
Cal Safety Adds To Weekly Awards Haul
California football defensive back Kingston Lopa has been named the Bednarik Award National Player of the Week following his standout performance against Syracuse, announced by the Maxwell Football Club on Tuesday morning.
Lopa becomes the third Golden Bear to win the Bednarik player of the week recognition. He joins the ranks of 2019 consensus All-American Evan Weaver and all-conference honoree David Reese as the only Cal players to have ever received the weekly nod.
Lopa tallied a career-best three interceptions in the Bears' 21-18 win over Syracuse this past weekend, making him the first Bear to record three interceptions in a single game since Jaylinn Hawkins intercepted three passes against TCU at the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl.
He now leads the nation in total interceptions (4) and interceptions per game (2.0) after also recording an interception against UCLA in Week 1. The last Bear to lead the nation in interceptions was Cal's Nohl Williams who finished the 2024 season atop the NCAA leaderboard with seven before being selected in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Against the Orange, Lopa returned one interception 24 yards for a go-ahead touchdown, which was the first pick-six of his career and the first by a Bear since Williams' 40-yard interception return for a score against Miami on Oct. 5, 2025.
Lopa returned his first interception against Syracuse a career-high 53 yards. Two of his three INTs in the game came in the fourth quarter. Lopa also added five tackles (4 solo, 1 assisted) to the stat sheet.
Lopa is a native of Sacramento where he attended Grant High School. He transferred to Cal this season after spending two years with Oregon. He was rated as the nation's No. 8 safety and No. 145 player overall in the 2026 transfer portal by 247Sports.
Lopa becomes the third Golden Bear to win the Bednarik player of the week recognition. He joins the ranks of 2019 consensus All-American Evan Weaver and all-conference honoree David Reese as the only Cal players to have ever received the weekly nod.
Lopa tallied a career-best three interceptions in the Bears' 21-18 win over Syracuse this past weekend, making him the first Bear to record three interceptions in a single game since Jaylinn Hawkins intercepted three passes against TCU at the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl.
He now leads the nation in total interceptions (4) and interceptions per game (2.0) after also recording an interception against UCLA in Week 1. The last Bear to lead the nation in interceptions was Cal's Nohl Williams who finished the 2024 season atop the NCAA leaderboard with seven before being selected in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Against the Orange, Lopa returned one interception 24 yards for a go-ahead touchdown, which was the first pick-six of his career and the first by a Bear since Williams' 40-yard interception return for a score against Miami on Oct. 5, 2025.
Lopa returned his first interception against Syracuse a career-high 53 yards. Two of his three INTs in the game came in the fourth quarter. Lopa also added five tackles (4 solo, 1 assisted) to the stat sheet.
Lopa is a native of Sacramento where he attended Grant High School. He transferred to Cal this season after spending two years with Oregon. He was rated as the nation's No. 8 safety and No. 145 player overall in the 2026 transfer portal by 247Sports.
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