2026 Men's Soccer Preseason Poll & Team (.pdf) |
2026 Schedule
Men’s soccer perennial contender UC Santa Barbra is favored to win The Big West in 2026, according to a poll of the league’s seven head coaches.
The Gauchos (7-5-8, 4-0-5 BW) earned four first-place votes for a total of 34 points. Last season, UC Santa Barbara finished in a three-way tie for first in the regular season and advanced to The Big West Championship final.
The coaches also voted on an 11-person Preseason All-Big West Team, and three Gauchos were featured on it in senior defender
Calle Mollerberg, senior forward
Donovan Sessoms and senior midfielder
Kaden Standish. Mollerberg, a two-time All-Big West honoree, was last season’s Big West Defensive Player of the Year after guiding the Gaucho defense to a 1.00 goals-against average. Sessoms transferred to UC Santa Barbara from Sacramento State and was a two-time All-Big West selection compiling 12 goals and three assists in two seasons as a Hornet. Standish was an All-Big West First Team member in 2025, tallying three goals and three assists on the year.
Defending champion UC Irvine (11-4-6, 4-0-5 BW) was picked to finish second, claiming two first-place votes for 32 points. The Anteaters were one of three Big West regular-season tri-champions and took home the conference crown with a 2-1 win in the 2025 Big West Championship title match. UCI took two slots on the preseason team in senior midfielder
Isaac Powell and senior defender
Brady Treinen. Powell amassed one goal and four assists en route to an All-Big West Honorable Mention and All-Far West Second Team honors in 2025. Treinen, a two-time All-Big West member, was a stalwart of the UCI defense that allowed a 0.86 goals-against average, while also producing two assists on offense last year.
Big West newcomer Utah Valley (8-4-3, 2-3-2 WAC) came in third in the poll with 24 points and had a preseason squad selection in senior
Toke Amtrup. As a defender, Amtrup scored two goals and played a full 90 minutes nine times for a side that sported a 1.13 goals-against average last season.
Cal State Fullerton (8-6-6, 5-3-1 BW) received the remaining first-place vote for 23 points to come in fourth in the poll. The Titans occupied two slots on the preseason team with junior midfielder
Jose de la Torre and senior midfielder
Fernando Valenzuela. In 2025, de la Torre compiled four goals and a conference-leading seven assists to earn All-Big West First Team and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Valenzuela tallied four goals and two assists for a spot on the All-Big West Honorable Mention last year.
CSUN (17), Cal State Bakersfield (11) and Sacramento State (6) round out the rest of the poll.
CSUN senior goalkeeper
Dorian Drucks earned a spot on the preseason squad. In 2025, Drucks led the conference with 74 saves and was tied for second in shutouts with eight.
The Cal State Bakersfield duo of senior defender
Filip Arras and fifth-year goalkeeper
Zenden Hart fill out the preseason team. Arras recorded one goal and four assists, while Hart handed out two shutouts and stopped 57 shots in goal for the Roadrunners last season.
The upcoming 2026 season will be the first year of the
new Big West/Pac-12 partnership agreement. Rather than have the three Pac-12 teams compete as independents or the two leagues consolidating into one giant conference, four full-time Big West institutions in California Baptist, Cal Poly, UC Riverside and UC San Diego became Pac-12 affiliate members in men’s soccer to preserve two automatic bids to the NCAA Championship in the west region.
The 2026 NCAA soccer season kicks off Thursday, Aug. 20. After about five weeks of non-conference action, Big West play is set to begin on Wednesday, Sept. 30. 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.
| 2026 Big West Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
Institution |
Points |
| 1. |
UC Santa Barbara |
34 (4) |
| 2. |
UC Irvine |
32 (2) |
| 3. |
Cal State Fullerton |
24 |
| 4. |
Utah Valley |
23 (1) |
| 5. |
CSUN |
17 |
| 6. |
Cal State Bakersfield |
11 |
| 7. |
Sacramento State |
6 |
| - First-place votes in parentheses |
|
|
| 2026 Big West Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Team |
|
|
| Student-Athlete |
Year |
Position |
Institution |
Hometown |
| Toke Amtrup |
Senior |
Defender |
Utah Valley |
Svendborg, Denmark |
| Filip Arras |
Senior |
Defender |
Cal State Bakersfield |
Melhus, Norway |
| Jose de la Torre |
Junior |
Midfielder |
Cal State Fullerton |
Moreno Valley, Calif. |
| Dorian Drucks |
Senior |
Goalkeeper |
CSUN |
Essen, Germany |
| Zenden Hart |
Fifth |
Goalkeeper |
Cal State Bakersfield |
Central Coast, Australia |
| Calle Mollerberg |
Senior |
Defender |
UC Santa Barbara |
Stockholm, Sweden |
| Isaac Powell |
Senior |
Midfielder |
UC Irvine |
Chula Vista, Calif. |
| Donovan Sessoms |
Senior |
Forward |
UC Santa Barbara |
Antelope, Calif. |
| Kaden Standish |
Senior |
Midfielder |
UC Santa Barbara |
Danville, Calif. |
| Brady Treinen |
Senior |
Defender |
UC Irvine |
Tustin, Calif. |
| Fernando Valenzuela |
Senior |
Midfielder |
Cal State Fullerton |
Boca Raton, Fla. |