Go WEST young man (and NORTH)

[Kuiper]

Whitman

Whitman had a pretty successful season, finishing 12-6-2 with a 9-5-2 record in the Northwest Conference.  They had solid victories against Chapman and La Verne from the SCIAC and a 2-1 close loss to Redlands, while beating every team in the NWC at least once, including the top two teams in Pacific Lutheran and George Fox, although the PLU victory was at home on the last day of the season after PLU had already clinched the NWC title and the automatic bid.  This year will be a rebuilding year, though, as they lose almost all of their top players from last season, including the majority of their regular starters from last year.

Key Departures:

They lose multiple key contributors at every position.  At forward, they lose first team All-NWC player Jacob Burrill, who led Whitman with 16 goals and 7 assists last season, and second team All-NWC player Sawyer Valero, who was second on the team with 7 goals and 5 assists.  Those two started virtually every game up top for Whitman last season.  They also lose Zachary Stonier, who started 12 of 15 games at forward last season and had 5 assists.  At midfield, they lose Oliver Dickson, who also started almost every game and was tied for second on the team with 5 assists, and honorable mention All-NWC player Josue Tobar, who started 16 of 18 games last season.  At defender, they lose Eric Gantt, who started every game and played the second most minutes on the team, and at goalkeeper, they lose Lucas Haigh, who started 15 games last season.

Key Returners:

Lucas McAllister, a first team All-NWC player, is the most experienced returner at midfield, scoring 3 goals and contributing 4 assists, while basically serving as the midfield engine for the team.  Kevin Serrano, the NWC Freshman of the Year and honorable mention all conference player, is the only legit goal scorer up top returning, after scoring 7 goals with 3 assists last season.  He was a first year in 2024, though, so the fact that he did well in his first season bodes well for him taking a major jump this season.  Having said that, 5 of his 7 goals were against Lewis & Clark and Linfield, the NWC's weakest teams, so he'll need to step up to show he can score against the better teams in the conference too.  On the defensive side, Jude Clem-Stockton and Adrian Valencia are the only regular starters returning.

Freshman:

9 member class.  Diego Villalbal might be one to watch.  He has been getting time this summer with the first team at Temecula FC in Southern California, a NISA pro-level team in SoCal.

[Kuiper]

McMurry

McMurry finished 4-13-1 in the SCAC in 2024, their first since moving from the ASC, where they will return in 2026.  A poor record, but double the win total of the year prior and tied for the second most wins since the pandemic.  In other words, expectations for men's soccer are all relative for McMurry.  The 2025 roster suggests things are particularly bleak though.  They had 32 on the roster in 2024 and currently only have 18 on the roster for 2025.  I thought maybe it was just a spring returners roster, but they have incoming freshman on it. If it is the complete roster for 2025, they'll have trouble just making it through the season with subs on the bench, so I'm guessing this is incomplete and they will at least have some more freshman joining the team.  Even then, they only have 9 sophomores listed, and 14 freshman were listed in the 2024 roster, so they clearly have had some roster melt.  Not very healthy for the team considering the university claimed to have record enrollment for the second year in a row last fall, with a 25% increase and topping 3,000 students.  Perhaps the fact that they lost their head coach and replaced him with the women's head coach taking over both teams led players to leave and hurt recruiting. 

Key Departures:

They didn't have a lot of "key" contributors last season, but they did lose some frequent senior starters such as midfielders Trey Castillo and Danny Chavez and defender Preston Stal.  More disturbing is they lost frequent starters who were freshman, such as GK Brandon Walker, D D'Mari Washington, and midfielder Landyn Snider.  They also apparently lost leading scorer, sophomore defender Anthony Licea

Key Returners:

They have a few regular starters returning.  Julian Trevino was a regular starter at defense and comes back for his sophomore year.  Dylan Christian also comes back as a senior midfielder and Jovanni Burnett as a sophomore midfielder.

Freshman:

They only have 3 listed on the roster right now.

[Kuiper]

Pacific University

Pacific finished 9-8-3 last season and were smack in the middle of the NWC.  That was its first winning season and highest NWC finish in awhile and quite a turnaround from 2022, when it finished second last to only brand new team Lewis & Clark and had a 2-12-5 overall record and 1-9-4 record in the NWC.  The question is whether that was the high water mark for Pacific or if it is on the way up as a program.

Key Departures:

They lost a bunch of 3-4 year starters, including defenders Brodie Buchert (76 of 78 games) and Tait Tuchenbrod (71 of 76 games), midfielders Aidan Heflin (59 of 74 games), and goalkeeper Zach Aderinto (56 of 56 games), who was second team All-NWC last season.  Aderinto is probably be the biggest loss, since he has started every single Pacific game the last three years.  The only returning GK with any college experience is Keolakupono Mataele, who played 45 minutes last season and only 8 games and 258 minutes over the last two seasons.

Key Returners:

The good news is that both of Pacific's All conference defenders return:  First teamer Garret Heuett (who, at 6'5" was also the leading scorer with 5 goals, presumably on set pieces) and second teamer Cameron Wyatt. They also return regular starters midfielder Adam Gosch and defender Caden Masumoto.  Plus,forward Adam Handy, who was second on the team in scoring, returns as a grad student.

Freshman:

12 person class.  Trenton Zimmerman is a Mira Costa grad from Manhattan Beach who had a strong HS career in defense for the school, who was first team All Area in the South Bay and capable of continuing Pacific's tactic of bringing in big defenders to score on set pieces.

[Kuiper]

One of the things FloSports promised to do in its deals with conferences is to promote its teams and players.  This typically involves social media posts and promos on its channels.  It's not much, but it's not nothing.

In this post, FloSports highlights Caltech's Etienne Casanova as the (or a?) "SCIAC Player to Watch"

FloCollege | Soccer
@FloFC_
SCIAC player to watch: Etienne Casanova ⚽️

Caltech's forward, Etienne Casanova, had a sensational season in 2024 with 11 goals and 10 assists. He tallied the 2nd most points in the SCIAC. What's in store for 2025?? 🏆🔥

FloSports is certainly right that he's a player to watch.  Casanova may be the most exciting creative player in the conference this season, as you can see by watching the two videos on this post.

[Kuiper]

UC Santa Cruz

UC Santa Cruz was 6-2-9 last season, which fairly reflects its season.  It could compete with anyone, such as in its win against Pacific Lutheran to open the season, but it lacked the offense to beat many teams.  Among its 9 ties were 0-0 ties against Occidental and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, and a 1-1 tie against Redlands.  They are really a sleeping giant in Region X.  They have the size and lower in-state tuition to be a powerhouse in California, but they are located in a D3 island and have to travel long distances to get games against other D3 teams.  This year, they travel up to the Seattle area to play Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound, travel to South Texas to play Trinity and Southwestern, travel to Southern California to play Redlands, Whittier, La Verne, Cal Lutheran, and CMS, and manage to convince a bunch of strong teams to make the trip to play them, including Willamette and Pacific from the NWC, Carleton from the MIAC, and Caltech from the SCIAC.  And then they have to travel to Christopher Newport for the C2C tournament.  Given all of that travel, plus some key departures, it's hard to see this as UCSC's year.  If they do well, however, they may have a strong enough schedule to generate some NPI points/ranking even if they don't win the C2C AQ.

Key Departures:

Biggest losses are last year's two first team All-C2C players, midfielder Max Beldner and forward Nico Herrera-Land.  Beldner started every game last season and was a senior, so his departure was expected.  Herrera-Land, however, was a sophomore who had transferred in from DII Humboldt State and only played a season at UC Santa Cruz.  I don't know where he went, but he isn't listed on the 2025 roster.  An interesting departure is midfielder Nikolas Wheeler-Quintanilla, who was a regular starter and awarded second team All-C2C last season as a sophomore.  He's not listed on the 2025 roster and it looks like he may have transferred to Cal State Fullerton (DI).

Transfers:

UCSC often gets transfers from Cal State or Cal Community College schools and this year is no exception.  Defender Avery Edgar transfers in from DII Cal State Monterey Bay, where he played all 18 games and started 5 in 2024.  He's a mature transfer - classified as a senior academically - but had a redshirt year at Monterey Bay.

Key Returners:

They get back a few second team All-C2C players, including leading scorer midfielder Soren Groessl, forward Joaquin Greenberg, and goalkeeper Chris Jamrok.  They also return some of their strong starting defenders, including Michael Braun and Lawyer Mamaril

Freshman:   

Six freshman listed on the roster.

[Kuiper]

Whitworth hasn't posted its 2025 roster yet, but I just saw an announcement that Cole Friesen is transferring to DII Point Loma University in his hometown of San Diego.  Point Loma is coming off two consecutive conference championships and DII NCAA tournament appearances.

#11 Cole Friesen
Junior | Midfielder | Chula Vista, Calif. | Whitworth University
 
Wolf said: "Another local recruit out of San Diego Surf ECNL, Cole makes his way to The Point after two incredible years at NCAA Division III Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington. In only two years, Cole became Whitworth's all-time leading scorer in career goals (41) and in a single season (24). We anticipate Cole adding goals and assists to an already talented attack."

This is a pretty massive loss for Whitworth.  Friesen led the team in 2024 with 14 goals and 9 assists and that was a down season for him, after scoring 24 goals and 5 assists in 2023.  They don't have another returner with more than 4 goals to his name.

[Kuiper]

Occidental

Following a third round 2OT loss to Amherst in the NCAA tournament in 2023, Oxy underperformed in 2024 despite finishing with a respectable 9-3-6 record.  It wasn't so much that it had trouble with some of the best SCIAC teams, losing to CMS twice (including in the conference semifinals) and tying Redlands, but Oxy also lost to Swarthmore, tied UC Santa Cruz, Chapman, and SCIAC conference bottom half teams Pomona-Pitzer and Cal Tech.  Plus, despite returning most of the team's offensive firepower and losing most of its top defenders, goals scored went down by more than goals conceded went up. They simply didn't overwhelm teams like they did in 2023.  The problem in 2025 is that they lose their best offensive threats from 2024, when the offense wasn't quite as potent as it had been the year before, AND they lose more defensive starters, including a starting GK who has started virtually every game the last three seasons.

Key Departures:

The biggest offensive departures are 2nd team all SCIAC and leading scorer forward Andrew Notter (10g/2a) and forward and second-leading scorer Oury Diane (8 g/3a).  The biggest defensive departures are starting goalkeeper Riley Nyhan, who started all but one game last season and has started 47 of 49 games the last three seasons and first team All-SCIAC defender Max Stanley.  They also lose regular contributors F Kai Fiedelholtz and M Sam Jenkins.

Key Returners:

First team All SCIAC midfielder Vicente Garcia has played a massive role in the center of the field the last three season, patrolling in front of the Oxy back line and serving as a creative influence for the transition game for three years.  Second team All SCIAC midfielder Aiden Aley also returns to form the core of what may be Oxy's strongest unit.  Ethan Carr may also help.  He missed all but one game last season due to injury but played 22 games (11 starts) his freshman year.  On defense, they return most of the core of a young unit last year, including Cooper Gersch, Ayden Rieke-Way, Eddie Siladie, Charlie Miller, and Matthew Shea.  At forward, they'll count on Tyler Na-Nakornpanom and Devin Benning.

Transfers:

As I wrote about earlier, they have two juniors transferring in from top programs in Minnesota:  M Elijah Edelman (Macalester), who started 17 of 18 games last season and has had 8 goals and 7 assists in his two years, and defender Alexander Yu (St. Olaf).  Edelman, in particular, may be able to slot in to form a formidable unit for the Tigers.

Freshman:

With only 15 field players returning from last season (plus 4 GKs), they needed to recruit players and they have done so.  In addition to the two transfers and 1 walk-on junior (who I think may have been on the Occidental IM champs last year), they have 12 freshman coming in.

[Ejay]

In addition to the two transfers and 1 walk-on junior (who I think may have been on the Occidental IM champs last year)

IM? Intramural? If so, that's some serious research!

[Kuiper]

In addition to the two transfers and 1 walk-on junior (who I think may have been on the Occidental IM champs last year)

IM? Intramural? If so, that's some serious research!

Not sure about the IM championship, but he was listed on an IM roster!

It's actually more common than you think that an IM or club soccer player ends up on a DIII roster (even happens at DI every once in awhile, at least before the roster limits). At a small liberal arts college that doesn't have one of those oversized rosters or reserve teams, they can help out in practice or in the event of injuries.  These days, there are usually quality former club players on campus who never went through the recruiting process in a serious way and then they decide they miss playing the sport more competitively after a year or two. 

[Kuiper]

Chapman

Chapman had a disappointing regular season in 2024, finishing at 6-9-6, but it rallied to edge Cal Lutheran 2-1 in the SCIAC play-in game and then upset Redlands on PKs in the semifinals, before being crushed by CMS in the conference finals 5-1.  The question is whether that late season surge is a sign of a turnaround that leads them back to their height in 2022 when they beat Oxy in 2OT in the conference finals and made it to the NCAA tournament or a momentary surge.

Key Departures:

The biggest loss is defender Jackson Busby, who was a three-time 1st team All SCIAC player and started 56 of 58 games over the last three seasons.  They also lose leading scorer Forward Jonah Friang, who started almost all games up top the last two seasons.  On a team that only scored 23 goals last season, they can ill afford to lose any goal scorers, even if Friang only scored 13 goals in his four years.

Key Returners:

The most important player to return is two-time 2nd team All-SCIAC goalkeeper Alex Glynn, who started all but two games and came up with big saves in the SCIAC tournament.  Senior forward Garrett Lindfelt and senior defenders Cormac Galvin and Wesley Jackson also return and hope to make up for the losses of Friang and Busby.

Transfers:

Damon Smargon is an interesting pickup.  He started at DI University of San Francisco (where he didn't play/redshirted), moved to Suffolk where he was a regular starter from 2022-2024, and now transfers to Chapman with a year of eligibility left.  I don't know if he will be a breakthrough player, but he has talent, with some USYNT and Philippines Nat'l Team experience and time in both the Orlando City and FC Cincinnati MLS academies.  Maybe coming back to Socal will help bring it out.

Freshman:

9 freshman.  Forward Enzo Lopes is one to watch.  He has some ability and Brazilian flair to his game that can be effective if he is aggressive.

[Kuiper]

The SCAC is a little more up in the air this year with Trinity and Southwestern departing, so I was looking out for the announcement of the SCAC Preseason Coaches Poll.  No surprise that Colorado College is on top (I think St. Thomas got the last first place vote, even though it wasn't on the graphic), but the rest of the standings feels like more of a toss up than these numbers would suggest.   

2025 SCAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points)
1.    Colorado College (11)    142
2.    University of St. Thomas    127
3.    Concordia University (Texas)    117
4.    Texas Lutheran University    114
5.    Austin College     91
6.    LeTourneau University     72
7.    Hendrix College     65
8.    Centenary College     59
9.    Schreiner University     54
10.    University of the Ozarks     48
11.    McMurry University     28
12.    University of Dallas     19

[Kuiper]

I don't often cover the NORTH part of this thread title, but in case anyone is following this thread for that, the WIAC has posted its 2025 Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll (and Season Preview).  The first two make sense to me.  The third is a bit of a surprise.  The specific information about each team is quite helpful in sorting it all out.

2025 Preseason Predictions--Voted on by WIAC Head Coaches and Sports Information Directors
 
2024 Record
1. UW-Eau Claire   (17-2-5 overall, 4-0-1 WIAC/13 pts.)
2. UW-Platteville   (14-2-5, 4-1/12 pts.)
3. UW-River Falls   (8-11, 3-2/9 pts.)
4. UW-Whitewater   (10-7-4, 2-2-1/7 pts.)
5. UW-Stevens Point   (8-8-4, 1-4/3 pts.)
6. UW-Stout           (2-16-1, 0-5/0 pts.)

Team Capsules
 
UW-Eau Claire
Head Coach:  Casey Holm, 4th season at UWEC; 64-13-8
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  18/14
Starters Returning/Lost:  7/4
Returning All-WIAC:  Carson Kowalski, Sr., D (2024-First); Alex Laroi, Jr., D (2024-Honorable); Noah Malcook, Jr., F (2024-First); Tate McDermott, So., M (2024-First)
 
Notable Returning Players:  Carmelo Kasim, Jr., D; Andrew Phillips, Jr., M; Owen Williams, Sr., F
 
 
UW-Platteville
Head Coach:  Jesse Tinney, 3rd season at UWP; 28-5-10
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  24/11
Starters Returning/Lost:  7/4
Returning All-WIAC: Seth Aiken, Sr., GK (2024-First/Goalkeeper of the Year); Ethan Dietrich, Sr., F (2024-First); Danny Gutzwiller, Sr., M (2024-First); Justin Williams, Sr., M (2024-First)
 
Notable Returning Players:  Sebastian Carranza, Sr., F; Alester Dawson, Sr., D; Brady Harwood, Jr., M/D; Brock Jurinek, Sr., F
 
 
UW-River Falls
Head Coach:  Evan Sassano, 5th season (2nd season at UWRF); 17-41-3 (overall) / 8-11 (at UWRF)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  14/14
Starters Returning/Lost:  7/4
Returning All-WIAC:  Mauricio Cuevas, So., D (2024-Honorable); Ben Harris, So., F (2024-First); Sorel Richardson, Jr., M (2024-First)
 
Notable Returning Players:  Holden Leifer, So., D; Gabi Abad Lobo, So., M; Noah Meschke, So., M; Victor Vancauteren, Jr., M
 
 
UW-Stevens Point
Head Coach:  Jordan Kayser, 2nd season at UWSP; 8-8-4
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:   20/15
Starters Returning/Lost:  10/1
Returning All-WIAC:  Riley Nycz, So., M (2024-Honorable); Connor Urban, So., D (2024-First); Devin Wilkerson, So., F (2024-First)
 
Notable Returning Players:  Marcelo Chavez, So., M; Cameron Jochimsen, Sr., F; Jacob Havlik, So., GK; Carter Smith, So., D
 
 
UW-Stout
Head Coach:  Cole Schwartz; 1st season at UWST; 0-0
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  33/2
Starters Returning/Lost:  10/1
Returning All-WIAC:  None
 
Notable Returning Players:  Davis Arvold, So., F; Gianluca Jones, So., F; Isak Rollins, So., D; Alex Thayer, So., F
                                                                           
 
UW-Whitewater
Head Coach:  Tony Guinn, 15th season at UWW; 153-62-31
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  16/11
Starters Returning/Lost:  4/7
Returning All-WIAC:  James Kiraly, So., F (2024-First); Aidian Martin, Jr., M (2024-First)
Cooper Re, Sr., F (2024-First); Hayden Saul, Jr., D (2024-First)
 
Notable Returning Players:  Luka Breslin, So., F; Zeke Healy, Sr., D; Adam Kaup, Sr., D; Matt White, Jr., D
 

[Kuiper]

Another school preview out of the SCIAC

Redlands

Redlands was 11-3-4 last season, but ended the season in disappointing fashion after beating Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 4-2 and then losing to Whittier 1-0 and to Chapman in PKs in the SCIAC semifinals. It's as if they lost focus on the ultimate goal after they knocked off the eventual champion.  This year, they have a much more formidable schedule, with a trip to the east coast to play Rutgers-Newark, Swarthmore, Virginia Wesleyan, and Christopher Newport to start the season.  The challenge is overcoming the loss of a lot of very strong players to send out coach Ralph Perez on a high note as he heads to retirement.

Key Departures:

They lose a ton of talent, including SCIAC offensive player of the year and Redlands leading goal scorer (12g/7a) Philip Kostenko and defensive player of the year Owen Jamieson, who played more minutes for Redlands last season than any other player.  They also lose 1st team All SCIAC midfielder Cody Bell and regular starters and contributors defender Erik Davies and midfielder Julian Weber.

Key Returners:

Despite losing arguably the two best players in the SCIAC last season and three of the conference's top players, they have a lot of talent returning too. Three 1st team All SCIAC players return:  GK Brady Brachman, defender Bo Robertson, and forward Anders Beckton, who had 6 goals and 8 assists last season.  Plus, 2nd team All SCIAC midfielder Connor Claborn returns.  Along with regular starters like midfielders Zach Darmanyan and Landon Azevedo, the cupboard is not bare.

Transfers:

Kiran Treacy-Hind, a defender who played 6 games and scored 1 goal for DI Fairleigh Dickinson in 2024 after redshirting in 2023 makes the cross-country trip to Redlands.  At least based on some online video, he could provide a strong attacking option from the wing who can also handle himself defensively.

Colby Anger (the announcers will have a field day with that name), a midfielder who was on the DI San Jose State roster in 2022 and then popped up on the roster of West Valley Community College in 2024, scoring 6 goals and 1 assist in 14 games, transfers in with junior status.

Freshman:

8 incoming freshman.

[Kuiper]

Whittier

If you were looking for a darkhorse candidate to follow in the SCIAC, you might consider keeping tabs on Whittier.  In 2023, they finished last in the SCIAC with a 1-10-1 conference record and a 3-12-1 record overall.  In 2024, after pursuing a new recruiting strategy based heavily on international recruits (primarily from Sweden and Norway) and community college transfers, they moved up two spots, finishing 4-7-1 in conference and 6-7-3 overall.  This year, virtually every regular starter returns and a new crop of Scandinavians (including now from Denmark as well) and juco players arrive, only this time they have people on the roster to help them acclimate and the existing players are settled and have a year of experience under their belt. 

Key departures:

They only had 4 seniors on the roster last season.  They lose contributors Dominic Morello and Jazey Zavala from the midfield, but they started 7 and 8 games respectively and neither played more than 660 minutes.

Key returners:

Second team All SCIAC players, midfielder and leading scorer Rowan Slater and freshman defender Jack Hindmarsh from Sweden, both return.  They also return almost all of their other regular starters - goalkeeper Breckon Robirds, defenders Hindmarsh, Anthony Dolce, Gustav Lind, and Chris Flores, midfielders Slater and Osvaldo Avalos and forward Nils Degardin, Owen Nance and Kevin Bravo. 

Newcomers:

A host of juco players, including the following, plus a raft of freshman, both domestic and international

Edgar Neco, a Spanish attacking midfielder from Foothill College (8g/6a in 15 starts)
Jake Marks, an English GK from Columbia College
Carlos Rivera, a center back from College of Southern Nevada
Diego Soberanis, an attacking CM from College of Southern Nevada
Connor Gilmore, a left back from Santa Monica College (started all 24 games)
Jaime Eijpen, a center back from Irvine Valley College (17 starts over 32 games)

[Kuiper]

Caltech

If Caltech is going to breakthrough and actually finish in the top half of the SCIAC, this is the year.  Indeed, I daresay this may be the end of Caltech's window, to use a metaphor from pro sports.  Apparently, one reason Caltech athletics in general has improved over the last decade is because the school started actually allowing athletics to recruit athletes.  Faculty, however, are supposed to be in charge of admissions at Caltech and they weren't happy with this change, which largely occurred gradually.  My sense is that the influence of athletics at Caltech was modest to the point of being laughable at other schools, but, according to this article from last October in the school newspaper, Faculty have now decided that athletics will be out of admissions altogether and athletics participation will be treated like any other extra curricular in admissions decisions, with basically no input from the coaches at all.  As a result, every player will become a walk-on.  So, with some of Caltech men's soccer's "golden generation" reaching their senior years, this may be the last chance for glory for the team.

Key Departures:

On offense, the biggest departure is probably Andy Dimnaku, who started all 18 games and had 3 goals and 5 assists.  On defense, they lose Allen Yang, who started 17 games, Andrew Chiang, who started 13 of 15 games, Alejandro Ortega, who started 9 of 18 games.

Key Returners:

The two best players in Caltech history return for their final seasons, which is why I say this may be the end of Caltech's window even though they will have more recruited athletes on the team for a few more years.  Midfielder Etienne Casanova was the team's leading scorer with 12 goals and 11 assists and was named 2nd team All Region X and 1st team All SCIAC.  Forward Ishaan Mantripragada was also 1st team All SCIAC with 9 goals despite missing five games because of injury.  If the two of them are healthy and on this year, they may be the best duo on the West Coast in 2025.  Other strong players returning include SCIAC Newcomer of the Year Matthew Luk, who had 8 goals and 5 assists in 2024, and regular starters Riley Coover (D), Ethan Hammel (GK), Aaron Henslovitz (D), and regular contributor Dean Yao (M).

Freshman:

They have 6 players in the freshman class