2025 Preseason Coaches' Poll & Team |
2025 Schedule
Big West men’s soccer perennial power UC Santa Barbra is favored to win The Big West according to a poll of the league’s 10 head coaches.
The Gauchos (12-5-5, 4-2-3 BW) earned three first-place votes for a total of 73 points. Last season, UC Santa Barbara finished second in the regular season standings, got to The Big West Championship final, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The coaches also voted on an 11-person Preseason All-Big West Team, and one Gaucho was featured on it in sophomore defender
Calle Mollerberg. Last season, Mollerberg played in 20 games, making 18 starts, and played a full match on 14 occasions, earning All-Big West Second Team and Freshman Team honors. UCSB sported a 1.08 goals-against average with Mollerberg in the backline.
Defending regular season champion Cal Poly (7-4-8, 4-1-4 BW) was picked to finish second, claiming three first-place votes for 71 points. The Mustangs earned four spots on the preseason squad in junior midfielder
Diego Guerra, sophomore forward
Quinn Mahoney, junior goalkeeper
Nicky McCune and junior defender
Parker Owens. Mahoney, the reigning Big West Freshman of the Year and Second Team honoree, was the offensive catalyst for last season’s Mustangs with four goals and six assists for 14 points. Guerra earned All-Big West First Team distinction last season with three goals and one assist for seven points. The 2024 Cal Poly defense, led by McCune and Owens, sported a goals-against average of 0.68, with nine shutouts on the year. The goaltending was even better in league play, with a 0.44 opponents' scoring average with five clean sheets. McCune tallied 60 saves and Owens provided one goal and three assists from the back line during the regular season. Last season, Owens and McCune were both All-Big West First Team selections and collected Defensive Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year awards, respectively.
UC Davis (10-6-6, 4-3-2 BW) received the remaining four first-place votes for 69 points to come in third in the poll. The Aggies, the winners of last year’s Big West Championship, took two slots on the preseason team with senior forward
Cason Goodman and senior midfielder
Zack Lillington. Goodman is a two-time All-Big West awardee, including First Team status last season with 11 goals and three assists for 25 points. Lillington recorded one goal and four assists to earn a spot on the All-Big West Second Team in 2024.
UC Irvine (8-8-3, 4-3-2 BW) came in fourth in the poll with 57 points and had two preseason squad selections in senior midfielder
Agaton Pourshahidi and junior defender
Brady Treinen. Pourshahidi recorded seven goals and two assists for 16 points last year and earned a spot on the All-Big West First Team. Treinen was an All-Big West Second Team honoree with five assist and led a backline that held opponents to 1.26 goals per game.
Cal State Fullerton (45), Cal State Bakersfield (37), CSUN (31), UC Riverside (24), UC San Diego (22) and Sacramento State (21) round out the rest of the poll.
Cal State Bakersfield junior defender
Luka Geishauser and Sacramento State junior forward
Donovan Sessoms fill out the preseason team. Geishauser played all but nine minutes last season, logging 1,521 minutes and anchoring the Roadrunner backline to a 1.24 goals-against average, en route to All-Big West First Team honors. In 2024, Sessoms scored 10 goals, seven in conference play, to earn All-Big West First Team membership. At the end of the year, Sessoms was selected in the third round, 61st overall, in the 2024 MLS Draft but decided to forgo the opportunity and return to Sacramento State.
The 2025 NCAA soccer season kicks off Thursday, Aug. 21. After a month of non-conference action, Big West play is set to begin on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Select regular-season contests are slated for telecast on the ESPN family of networks.
Please check ESPN listings for upcoming game schedules and additional information.
| 2025 Big West Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
Institution |
Points |
| 1. |
UC Santa Barbara |
73 (3) |
| 2. |
Cal Poly |
71 (3) |
| 3. |
UC Davis |
69 (4) |
| 4. |
UC Irvine |
57 |
| 5. |
Cal State Fullerton |
45 |
| 6. |
Cal State Bakersfield |
37 |
| 7. |
CSUN |
31 |
| 8. |
UC Riverside |
24 |
| 9. |
UC San Diego |
22 |
| 10. |
Sacramento State |
21 |
| - First-place votes in parentheses |
| 2025 Big West Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Team |
|
|
| Student-Athlete |
Year |
Position |
Institution |
Hometown |
| Luka Geishauser |
Junior |
Defender |
Cal State Bakersfield |
Dusseldorf, Germany |
| Cason Goodman |
Senior |
Forward |
UC Davis |
Santa Barbara, Calif. |
| Diego Guerra |
Junior |
Midfielder |
Cal Poly |
Fresno, Calif. |
| Zack Lillington |
Senior |
Midfielder |
UC Davis |
Fairfax, Calif. |
| Quinn Mahoney |
Sophomore |
Forward |
Cal Poly |
Sacramento, Calif. |
| Nicky McCune |
Junior |
Goalkeeper |
Cal Poly |
San Ramon, Calif. |
| Calle Mollerberg |
Sophomore |
Defender |
UC Santa Barbara |
Stockholm, Sweden |
| Parker Owens |
Junior |
Defender |
Cal Poly |
Southlake, Texas |
| Agaton Pourshahidi |
Senior |
Midfielder |
UC Irvine |
Stockholm, Sweden |
| Donovan Sessoms |
Junior |
Forward |
Sacramento State |
Antelope, Calif. |
| Brady Treinen |
Junior |
Defender |
UC Irvine |
Tustin, Calif. |