Whitman

Whitman had a historic season, going 14-1-6, winning the NWC outright for the first time since 1981 and making the NCAA tournament for the first time ever, losing to 3-2 to Texas Lutheran in the first round.  They lose two of the most important players from that team, however, with Lucas McAllister (NWC offensive player of the year) and Adrian Valencia (NWC defensive player of the year) graduating.  They do return a ton of All NWC players, though: GK Niclas Isensee, Riki Kobayashi, Fernando Lopez-Vega, Remy Marcks, Kevin Serrano, Pablo Gonzalez, Alexander Perez Hernandez, Jude Clum-Stockton, and William Miranda Ortiz.  They will still be formidable in the NWC, but they need to find someone to pick up the scoring slack and to hold down the middle of the defense.

They will be tested right off the bat with a cross-country trip to Virginia for the first games of the season at Marymount and Mary Washington before turning around and flying back cross-country to host UC Santa Cruz and Mary Hardin-Baylor in the second weekend.  In NWC play, they open slowly, hosting Linfield and Lewis & Clark in Walla, Walla, but they end with a home game against Pacific Lutheran, which could be the de facto NWC championship game.

Southwestern

After a 15-2-3 season that ended with bitter disappointment with a 2-1 loss to Berry in the SAA championship game, Southwestern has to regroup.  They'll have to do it without their top two scorers in Greyson Pinto and Raghav Sharma and top goalkeeper Scott Johnson, as well as honorable mention All-SAA player Lucas Marino.  The cupboard isn't bare though.  First team all-SAA center back Cooper Pero returns to lead the defense, as do second teamers Danny Wasserman and Quinn MacLeod and honorable mention player Ross Anderson as well as three other starters from last season.

The schedule is pretty favorable for Southwestern, with only two out of state road trips.  The game against Lynchburg at home on 9/6 offers an early test for whether they have the offensive firepower to replace Pinto and Sharma.

This article from SimpleCoach on his site, D3Soccer.fans, is a good discussion of the impact on D3 of new roster and eligibility rules in D1 soccer.  I'm linking it here because parents and players considering D3 soccer would do well to understand how those rules may change the D3 experience, generally for the better in terms of improving quality of play, but also making it more competitive to find a D3 place to play.  Below is an excerpt from the introduction of the piece.

https://d3soccer.fans/2026/08/12/as-d3-soccer-quality-rises-the-race-for-early-playing-time-gets-tighter/

QuoteMuch has been written about the radical overhaul of Division I athletics over the last few years. The court cases, the successive rule changes, and the confusion that followed have turned what was once viewed as a bastion of pure college athletics into something closer to a professional category of its own.

Division I and Division II soccer now operate under a different set of incentives than they did three years ago. The House settlement roster limits, the 5-in-5 eligibility model approved in June 2026, a fully mature transfer portal, and continued heavy use of international talent have combined to tighten the pathway for true freshmen and developmental American players at the top of the collegiate hierarchy.

The quality of those programs remains high and will only go higher. The developmental runway for 18- and 19-year-olds, however, has gotten shorter.

For Division III, the result is clear: small schools are absorbing the overflow. The competitive floor is rising across large parts of the division, and the opportunity for younger players who need minutes is both more available and more contested.

La Verne

La Verne was pretty inconsistent last season, reflected in their record (8-7-5), but squeaked into the SCIAC tournament and beat Chapman on PKs before losing to Occidental in the semis.  They have lots of talent and ball skill, though, and on any given day, they can beat a strong team, such as their 1-0 win over Oxy in the regular season.

This year, they return a lot of their top talent, including leading scorers Israel Jimenez Ramirez and Diego Soto.  They return almost all of their starters too.  The biggest loss is their GK, Hector Duenas-Pena, who was 1st team All-SCIAC GK last season and was named SCIAC defensive player of the week three times.  They have some GKs on the roster with juco game experience, but not much at La Verne.

The other wild card about La Verne is that they are heavy on transfers, including junior college transfers, and this year is no exception.  The most notable addition is F Isaiah Barber (DI UC Santa Barbara).  He's a 6'3" striker who played in 44 games over three seasons at UCSB, scoring 3g/3a in 1215 minutes.  I expect he will do some damage in the SCIAC as a grad student, if for no other reason that he has pretty good hops on top of his height, so he'll be a threat on all set pieces.

Starting my previews of teams as rosters are released.

Pomona-Pitzer

Lots of talent graduated last season for a team that went 10-5-3 and lost in the SCIAC tournament to Redlands 2-1 under first year coach Clint Moore.  Biggest loss is probably Niclas Ulrich, who led the team in goals and assists while holding down the fort all four years as a stalwart center back.  His service on free kicks led to a lot of goals for the Sagehens.  GK Jaspar Broad also departs after starting two straight years following his transfer from Colorado College, where he was an All-SCAC performer.  With two other senior goalkeepers leaving, the only returning goalkeeper who has played is junior Gavin Honey, who has played 31 minutes in his college career.  I wouldn't be surprised if Freshman Jack Shepherd is in the mix for the starting spot, although he has several upperclassmen ahead of him in the queue.  While the team loses some talent, they have a strong senior group, led by Guy Fuchs, who is kind of a metronome-type midfielder who comes back to retrieve the ball, and forward/midfielder Aidan MacLennan who tied for the team lead in goals last season and was 2nd team All SCIAC.  Seb Lee Jara is a strong defender and goal scorer in his own right who is likely to help make up for Ulrich's departure on defense along with Charles Leonhard.  Kieran Veloria is an X-factor at MF who makes nice runs and has nifty moves. 

Pomona-Pitzer has an ambitious road trip on the second weekend of the season, traveling to Ohio to play Kenyon and Denison.  That will be a real test of this team's level and their first foray outside of Region X since before Covid.

Tufts posted its 2026 roster.

Tufts

I kind of prefer when they don't do it this early, since it preserves the nostalgic illusion that preseason training is still a tryout and the roster isn't quite set until it's over.  Nevertheless, it's fun to start looking at where things stand for the defending national champions.  A few observations:

Antic and Pensky are back for a 5th year, as previously announced. 

They do get a DI transfer GK from Providence in Julian Ballester, but he doesn't come with much experience.  Zach Ubamadu, who was listed as a junior, is apparently not coming back, so the transfer takes his spot and a freshman takes the other GK position vacated by Sammy Kao.  So, they basically have four goalkeepers, but only Antic has any experience to speak of.

The other transfer is Riley Gray from San Diego State, who didn't see anytime in his 1 year there.  He's a 6'3" defender, which makes him one of the tallest defenders on the team and perhaps fills a role James Flagg played last season off the bench.

United East Conference Announces Addition of Four Remaining Core Members of the Atlantic East

The two conferences had announced a strategic partnership in the Spring and insisted it wasn't a merger, but now it is basically a merger as of 2027-2028.  With Neumann and Marywood moving to the MAC, and St. Elizabeth and Pratt moving to the CUNYAC successor, the four now moving to the UEC - Centenary, Gwynedd Mercy, Immaculata, and Marymout - were the last schools standing in the Atlantic East.

QuoteAs a culmination of a months-long assessment and collaboration with the Atlantic East, the United East Conference is announcing the addition of Centenary University, Gwynedd Mercy University, Immaculata University, and Marymount University as full members, effective July 1, 2027. The addition of the four institutions will bring the conference's total core members to 17.

In recent months, presidents and commissioners from the Atlantic East and United East have been engaged in strategic discussions to evaluate the potential of maintaining two separate conferences in a way that would benefit the student-athlete experience for all conference members.  While leadership from both conferences continue to believe that greater consideration for fair AQ access is needed for larger conferences, it became evident in the collaboration that having all athletic programs competing under one conference provided the most stable environment for member institutions and its student-athletes.

"First and foremost, I want to thank the presidents and chancellors from the Atlantic East and the United East for their work and commitment over the last nine months," said United East Commissioner, Stephanie Dutton. "While the outcome of our work differs from our initial goal, it was clear in every discussion that our campus leaders are most committed to ensuring their student-athletes have a positive conference experience in a stable and competitive environment. We look forward to welcoming these four institutions to the United East in 2027 and see this addition as another opportunity for our conference to continue evolving and innovating in ways that best support Division III student-athletes during a volatile time in higher education."

In the interim, the two conferences will remain committed to a strategic partnership in select sports for the 2026-27 academic year. Partnered sports for the upcoming year include Field Hockey, Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving, Men's & Women's Indoor Track & Field, Men's Volleyball, and Women's Lacrosse. Men's Lacrosse will join the list of partnered sports for Spring 2027 with the top team from each conference competing in a crossover championship for the Atlantic East automatic qualifier.

"On behalf of the United East Presidents' Council, we are pleased to welcome Centenary University, Gwynedd Mercy University, Immaculata University, and Marymount University to our conference," shared United East Presidents' Council Chair Dr. Wesley Fugate. "This decision reflects our shared commitment to placing student-athletes first and building a strong, stable future for our institutions and athletic programs. We are grateful for the thoughtful collaboration that brought us to this point and excited about the opportunities ahead to strengthen relationships, enhance competition, and provide an exceptional Division III experience across the United East."

"We are thrilled to be joining the schools in the United East Conference," said Deanne D. D'Emilio, President of Gwynedd Mercy University. "The larger conference will provide stability, a high level of competition, and overall enhanced experiences for our student-athletes. I am grateful to the leadership of the United East and Commissioner Dutton for their gracious welcome to GMercyU, Centenary University, Immaculata University, and Marymount University. We look forward to the many opportunities this new conference will offer."

Upon its return to 17 full members, the United East is projected to be one of the largest conferences in Division III. Sport sponsorship in the conference is also expected to increase to 23 sports with the United East adding Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving in 2027-28.

United East leadership will finalize the conference schedule structure and postseason format in the coming months to address institutional priorities and create operational efficiencies, with the conference exploring a return to a divisional structure. Any anticipated changes will be announced prior to the 2027-28 academic year.

Here's one last award in Men's Soccer for the 2025-26 academic year that wasn't announced until today.

The United Soccer Coaches 2025-2026 Women's and Men's College Team Academic Award Winners

QuoteUnited Soccer Coaches announced on Friday the College Team Academic Award winners, recognized for their exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2025-26 academic year.

A total of 781 soccer teams (329 men, 452 women) posted a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher, thereby earning the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for the 2025-26 academic year. Of that total, 178 schools had both their men's and women's programs recognized.

This is the one award in which DI, DII, and DIII are not grouped into separate categories.

Here are the top 12 team avg gpa's (three-way tie for 10th) in DIII Men's Soccer and Haverford is #1 in all of NCAA Men's Soccer

Haverford - 3.84
Williams 3.79
Conn College - 3.77
Vassar - 3.76
Pomona-Pitzer - 3.75
Swarthmore - 3.73
Caltech  - 3.72
Macalester - 3.72
Carleton 3.71
Bates - 3.70
MIT - 3.70
Wash U. - 3.70

Turns out a lot of traditional rivals on the field compete pretty closely in the classrooms as well.  Haverford-Swarthmore, Macalester-Carleton, and Williams-Amherst (which just misses out on this list with a 3.68).

Quote from: SierraFD3soccer on August 06, 2026, 12:46:28 PMI know, I know, very few like F&M which is all good. Not at the Amhate level, but still something.

My personal prediction is that F&M might get a few more wins, but will most likely end up like last season. Just is what it is.

What is not discussed is that F&M just added its 16th freshman to its roster https://www.instagram.com/p/DbrcR6bNoGl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Really, really, really interesting. IMO, probably Dan Wagner's biggest coaching challenge in long time. With low expectations this year, he appears to be looking to make a difference. We will see from the roster, how many are left from last year's team.

FYI, Dan is doing what many colleges love, enrolling men into the college, esp. in one that has been shrinking. So he's doing his part concerning the administration.

It will be interesting to see their final roster to see if they are replacing or enlarging. 

I did a quick check of Centennial schools who announce their recruits on Instagram to see the numbers. Some of these may include transfers, but F&M's number certainly stands out.

F&M 16
McDaniel 12
Muhlenberg 11
Dickinson 11
Haverford 9
Washington College 8
Ursinus 7
Hopkins (incomplete - just started announcing and have 4 so far)

Gettysburg and Swarthmore haven't announced on Instagram

The United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll has been released. As in the past, it's just a repeat or reminder of the year-end rankings.

National - Pre-season Poll - August 4, 2026

Rank    School                  Prev    W-L-T
1    Tufts University    1    20-1-3
2    Trinity (Texas)    2    20-2-1
3    St. Olaf College    3    20-3-3
4    Emory University    4    17-2-3
5    Bowdoin College    5    12-4-4
6    Dickinson College    6    16-1-7
7    Wheaton (Mass.)    7    17-2-4
8    Augsburg College    8    18-3-3
9    Connecticut College    9    12-3-6
10    Williams College    10    10-5-4
11    SUNY Cortland            11    14-1-6
12    Rowan University    12    17-4-4
13    Macalester College    13    17-4-4
14    Wash University (Mo.)    14    14-4-1
14    Lynchburg            14    19-2-2
16    Messiah University    16    12-8-2
17    University of Scranton    17    13-1-6
18    Brandeis University    18    10-4-5
19    Middlebury College    19    11-6-2
20    University of Chicago    20    12-3-5
21    Denison University    21    14-3-3
22    Wisconsin-Eau Claire    22    13-3-4
23    UMass-Boston            23    13-4-4
24    Christopher Newport    24    13-3-5
25    Luther College            25    10-3-7

Records shown are final 2025 records.

Also receiving votes: Catholic University, Wesleyan University, Babson College, Calvin University, Hampden-Sydney College, Edgewood University, Texas Lutheran University

Not sure if the SUNYAC 2024 thread is the appropriate place to put this, but since people continued to use it in 2025 and I didn't think it made sense to start a new thread, I'm putting it here:

SUNYAC Men's and Women's Soccer Split into Divisions, Expand Playoff Format, Reduce Number of Conference Contests

QuoteWith the addition of Alfred State, Cobleskill and Delhi raising the number of full-time member institutions to 12, the State University of New York Athletic Conference will split its men's and women's soccer conference into two divisions while increasing the number of playoff teams from six to eight.

The SUNYAC also will reduce the number of conference contests from nine to eight with all changes beginning with the upcoming 2026 campaign.

The SUNYAC will be divided into a pair of six-team divisions with teams playing five games vs. divisional opponents and three crossover games against the opposite division. All games will count toward the conference records and current tiebreakers will be augmented to seed the teams for the post-season.

The divisions are roughly divided along the I-81 corridor in an East-West configuration that has been established as follows:

    Eastern Division: Canton, Cobleskill, Delhi, Oneonta, Plattsburgh, Potsdam
    Western Division: Alfred State, Buffalo State, Cortland, Fredonia, Morrisville, Oswego

"Increasing the conference to 12 teams created an opportunity for the SUNYAC to conduct a comprehensive review of its scheduling and playoff structure," Tom DiCamillo, commissioner of the SUNYAC, explained. "The exciting result is an expanded playoff format using a Wild Card system with a chance for teams seeded fifth and sixth to host first-round playoff games, while the division winners earn byes into the semifinal round."

In addition, DiCamillo pointed out that the number of conference games being reduced from nine to eight allows teams to control more of their schedules in the era the NCAA using NPI. It also reduces some long-distance conference travel.

"Previously, soccer teams would either have four or five road games in a given year; however, now teams can plan on just four road games each season," the commissioner outlined. "In terms of the crossover games road contests, teams will have one or two per year with schools playing teams from the opposite division just twice in a four-year cycle."

For example, Fredonia and Plattsburgh are two of the furthest schools apart in the SUNYAC. They will play each other twice during the current four-year schedule that runs from 2026-29, with each school making just one trip to other team's campus in a four-year period during the regular season.

The playoffs have a unique twist in that there is an emphasis on winning the division or finishing second, while an entire division – in theory – could make the playoffs. This Wild Card system addresses concerns that one division could dominate in a specific season.

The playoffs will work as follows:

    The Top 2 teams in each division will make the playoffs
    The division winners will be seeded 1-2 based on their conference record
    The second-place teams are guaranteed a playoff berth, but not a seed
    The next four-best teams will earn Wild Card berths
    After the division winners, the remaining six teams will be seeded 3-8

    The playoff format will consist of the following:
        First Round
        Second Round
        Semifinals
        Championship

    On the first Wednesday following the end of the regular season, the First Round will feature the following games:
        #8 Seed @ #5 Seed / #7 Seed @ #6 Seed

    On the first Saturday following the end of the regular season, the Second Round will feature the following games:
        #8-#5 Winner @ #4 Seed
        #7-#6 Winner @ #3 Seed

    On the second Wednesday following the end of the regular season, the Semifinals will feature the following games:

        #8-#5-#4 Winner @ Highest Division Winner (#1 Overall Seed)
        #7-#6-#3 Winner @ Lowest Division Winner (#2 Overall Seed)

    On the second Saturday following the end of the regular season the Championship will be played

I don't know if this OAC-HCAC Announcement is truly new, but I suspect that "strategic" alliances like this may become more common as conferences grapple with closures and departures.

QuoteThe Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and the Ohio Athletic Conference have entered into a formal strategic alliance designed to preserve competitive opportunities, support sustainable sport sponsorship and provide greater stability for NCAA Division III student-athletes and member institutions.

Approved by the Councils of Presidents of both conferences, the agreement establishes a framework through which the HCAC and OAC can collaborate on strategic initiatives, scheduling opportunities, affiliate membership arrangements and other areas of mutual interest while each maintains their own independent governance and operational models.

The agreement reflects a shared commitment to proactively address challenges facing Division III athletics and institutions, while creating opportunities for responsible and sustainable growth of both leagues and their sport offerings.

QuoteA central focus of this partnership is preserving access to NCAA championship opportunities for students of both conferences. If a sport in either conference is at risk of falling below the membership threshold required to maintain NCAA automatic qualification, the conferences may work together through scheduling assistance, affiliate membership arrangements or other mutually agreed-upon measures.

The agreement also creates a foundation for cooperation involving emerging and growing sports. By providing greater consistency and security in scheduling and sport sponsorship, the alliance can help institutions explore new athletic opportunities, knowing they will have teams to compete against, while responding thoughtfully to changes in existing programs.

For prospective student-athletes and their families, that cooperation can provide greater confidence in the long-term availability of competitive opportunities. For current student-athletes, it reinforces both conferences' commitment to protecting meaningful conference and postseason experiences.

This last point is something people in Texas dealing with the back-and-forth of the SCAC-ASC over the last few years would appreciate

QuoteThe partnership also includes a mutual commitment that neither conference will solicit a core member of the other without approval through the conferences' respective governance processes. That provision further reflects the alliance's emphasis on trust, stability and the continued strength of both organizations.

Quote from: Ron Boerger on July 31, 2026, 08:19:21 PMInfantino blinked and FIFA will no longer pursue private equity investment (gift link from The Athletic).

This apparent one-man effort may cost Infantino his job, from reports.

Maybe Infantino will look for a soft landing spot in a place where they appreciate private equity investment.  Like college sports.

https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/university-of-utah-and-its-foundation-finalize-deal-to-form-crimson-brand-partners/

"Targeted Reductions" Coming to Illinois Tech

QuoteAn unspecified number of positions will be cut from the Illinois Institute of Technology, its president wrote in an email to the campus community on Tuesday that was obtained by The Chronicle. Citing the converging forces of demographic decline, research cutbacks, and restrictions on international students, the president, Raj Echambadi, explained that "the actions we are taking now, while painful, are needed to build a stronger foundation for the future." Illinois Tech's total enrollment was 8,834 in fall 2024, according to federal data, which was an increase of about 12 percent relative to a decade earlier.

The Faculty Senate, meanwhile, acknowledged that the university is in "extreme financial difficulty and that deep cuts may be necessary" but said it lacked confidence in senior administrators, whom it described as "slow, opaque, apparently uninformed, and nontransparent," to make decisions that would enable the institution to meet its obligations to students and accreditors. The senate's vote of no confidence in the president, provost, and vice president for enrollment management and student affairs passed on Monday and Tuesday by a margin of 85 to 8, with four abstentions.

University of Valley Forge announces that it is suspending operations

Quote"After much prayer, careful consideration, and consultation, the Board of Trustees of the University of Valley Forge has made the difficult and painful decision to suspend academic operations at the conclusion of the Summer 2026 semester."