Sports season
The 2023 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season will the 21st season of men's varsity soccer in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC), as part of the 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season .
Previous season
Kentucky won both the Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament championship, marking the first time they have won either of the Sun Belt titles. It was Kentucky's seventh overall regular season championship and their sixth overall tournament championship. Kentucky earned the Sun Belt's automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament , and Marshall earned an at-large bid. Kentucky was the top-overall seeded team in the entire tournament while Marshall was unseeded. Both teams reached the third round (Sweet 16) of the NCAA tournament before being eliminated.
Milo Yosef of Marshall was named the SBC Player of the Year. Oliver Semmle of Marshall was the first Sun Belt player to be selected in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft , being drafted in the second round with the 41st overall pick by the Colorado Rapids .
Teams
Stadiums and locations
Team
Location
Stadium
Capacity
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Conway, South Carolina
Coastal Carolina University Soccer Field
1,000
Georgia Southern Eagles
Statesboro, Georgia
Eagle Field
3,500
Georgia State Panthers
Decatur, Georgia
GSU Soccer Complex
1,892
James Madison Dukes
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Sentara Park
1,500
Kentucky Wildcats
Lexington, Kentucky
Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex
3,368
Marshall Thundering Herd
Huntington, West Virginia
Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex
1,006
Old Dominion Monarchs
Norfolk, Virginia
Old Dominion Soccer Complex
4,000
South Carolina Gamecocks
Columbia, South Carolina
Stone Stadium
5,700
UCF Knights
Orlando, Florida
UCF Soccer and Track Stadium
2,000
West Virginia Mountaineers
Morgantown, West Virginia
Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium
1,600
Coaches
Lee Squires was hired in December 2022 to become the Head Coach of the Georgia Southern Eagles.[ 2]
Note: All stats current through the completion of the 2022 season
Preseason
Preseason poll
The preseason poll will be released in late August 2023.
SBC preseason poll
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
Kentucky
93 (6)
2
Marshall
91 (2)
3
West Virginia
77 (1)
4
UCF
68 (1)
5
South Carolina
49
6T
Coastal Carolina
45
6T
Georgia State
45
8
James Madison
40
9
Old Dominion
26
10
Georgia Southern
16
[ 7]
Preseason national polls
The preseason national polls were released in July and August 2023.[ 8]
United Soccer
Top Drawer Soccer
Coastal Carolina
—
—
Georgia Southern
—
—
Georgia State
—
—
James Madison
—
—
Kentucky
3 (1)
6
Marshall
11
9
Old Dominion
—
—
South Carolina
—
—
UCF
—
—
West Virginia
—
—
Preseason awards
All−American Teams
USC 1st Team
USC 2nd Team
TDS 1st Team
TDS 2nd Team
CSN 1st Team
CSN 2nd Team
Preseason All SBC
Position
Player
Class
School
Goalkeeper
Casper Mols
So.
Kentucky
Defender
Anderson Rosa
Sr.
UCF
Max Miller
So.
Kentucky
Morris Duggan
Sr.
Marshall
Midfielder
Gavin Williams
So.
Georgia State
Alex Karkowiak
R-Jr.
James Madison
Eythor Kjartansson
So.
Coastal Carolina
Andrew Erickson
Sr.
Kentucky
Forward
Casper Grening
Jr.
Kentucky
Lucca Dourado
Sr.
UCF
Simon Carlson
Sr.
Georgia State
Matthew Bell
So.
Marshall
Regular season
National rankings
Improvement in ranking
Drop in ranking
NR
Not Ranked
Pre
Wk 1
Wk 2
Wk 3
Wk 4
Wk 5
Wk 6
Wk 7
Wk 8
Wk 9
Wk 10
Wk 11
Wk 12
Wk 13
Wk 14
Wk 15
Final
Coastal Carolina
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
None released
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
Georgia Southern
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
None released
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
Georgia State
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
None released
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
James Madison
NR
17
8
9
12
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
None released
18
NR
NR
NR
24
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
13
13
14
14
14
Kentucky
3
2
19
24
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
None released
NR
6
5
9
11
25
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
Marshall
11
5
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
6
4
1
None released
8
9
6
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
6
6
3
1
1
9
9
9
Old Dominion
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
None released
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
South Carolina
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
None released
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
UCF
NV
13
6
5
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
12
None released
19
NR
NR
17
15
4
3
2
2
2
2
1
9
14
21
21
21
21
West Virginia
NR
NR
16
4
2
4
3
7
5
2
7
5
None released
3
NR
NR
NR
10
2
7
4
10
6
1
4
2
2
2
1
1
3
Awards
Source:[ 9]
2023 Sun Belt Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams
First Team
Second Team
Player – School
Player - School
etc
Player - School
Player - School
MLS SuperDraft
The 2024 MLS SuperDraft was held on December 19, 2023.
Total picks by school
Team
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Comp.
Total
Coastal Carolina
0
0
0
0
0
Georgia State
0
0
0
0
0
Georgia Southern
0
0
0
0
0
James Madison
0
0
0
0
0
Kentucky
0
0
1
0
1
Marshall
1
0
1
0
2
Old Dominion
0
0
0
0
0
South Carolina
0
0
0
0
0
UCF
0
1
0
0
1
West Virginia
3
0
0
0
3
List of selections
References
^ https://sunbeltsports.org/documents/2023/8/24//2023_SBC_Men_s_Soccer_Statistics.pdf
^ "Georgia Southern Tabs Lee Squires as Men's Soccer Coach" . 14 December 2022.
^ "Shaun Docking - Men's Soccer Coach" . goccusports.com .
^ "Lee Squires - Men's Soccer Coach" . gseagles.com .
^ "2022 MSOC Record Book" (PDF) . georgiastatesports.com . December 12, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2023 .
^ "Chris Grassie - Men's Soccer Coach" . herdzone.com .
^ "Sun Belt Announces Men's Soccer Preseason Awards & Poll" . 14 August 2023.
^ "United Soccer Coaches Top 25 DI Men — National" . United Soccer Coaches . Kansas City, Missouri . August 1, 2023. Archived from the original on August 5, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023 .
^ "2023 Sun Belt Men's Soccer Awards and All-Conference Teams Announced" . 3 November 2023.
^ "Real Salt Lake Signs First-Round 2024 Draft Pick Matthew Bell" . Major League Soccer. February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024 .
^ Blain, Luke (January 9, 2024). "Marcus Caldeira announces return to WVU Men's Soccer" . TheDAonline.com . The DA. Retrieved January 15, 2023 .
^ "Orlando City B signs MLS SuperDraft selection Yutaro Tsukada" . OrlandoCitySC.com . Orlando City. March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024 .
^ "Rhode Island FC Signee Drafted in First Round of MLS SuperDraft" . RhodeIslandFC.com . Rhode Island FC. December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023 .
^ "Anderson Rosa Selected by Rapids in MLS SuperDraft 2024 Second Round" .
^ "Minnesota United Signs MLS SuperDraft 2024 Pick Morris Duggan" . Major League Soccer. February 23, 2024. Retrieved February 24, 2024 .
^ "Casper Mols Drafted to Atlanta United FC in 2024 adidas MLS SuperDraft" . 19 December 2023.
External links
Current teams Inactive teams Rivalries Championships & awards Seasons Tournaments
Regular Season Tournaments National Tournaments Rankings & awards
National teams
League competitions
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Amateur Collegiate
Cup competitions
Youth competitions