2023 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season explained

2023 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season
Color:
  1. 0C2340
Color Text:
  1. FFFFFF
League:NCAA Division I
Sport:Soccer
Pixels:175px
Duration:August 24, 2023 - October 31, 2023
No Of Teams:10
Season:Regular Season
Season Champs:Marshall
Mvp:Offensive:Matthew Bell
Defensive:Morris Duggan
Goalkeeper:Gabriel Perrotta
Top Scorer:Marcus Caldeira (12)
Yutaro Tsukada (12)[1]
Draft:2024 MLS SuperDraft
Draft Link:2024 MLS SuperDraft
Top Pick:Matthew Bell, 16th overall
Picked By:Real Salt Lake
Finals:Tournament
Finals Link:2023 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer tournament
Finals Champ:Marshall
Finals Runner-Up:West Virginia
Finals Mvp:Alvaro Garcia-Pascual
Seasonslistnames:Sun Belt Conference men's soccer
Prevseason Link:2022 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season
Prevseason Year:2022
Nextseason Link:2024 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season
Nextseason Year:2024

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

See main article: 2022 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer 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

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
Coastal Carolina ChanticleersConway, South CarolinaCoastal Carolina University Soccer Field1,000
Georgia Southern EaglesStatesboro, GeorgiaEagle Field3,500
Georgia State PanthersDecatur, GeorgiaGSU Soccer Complex1,892
James Madison DukesHarrisonburg, VirginiaSentara Park1,500
Kentucky WildcatsLexington, KentuckyWendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex3,368
Marshall Thundering HerdHuntington, West VirginiaVeterans Memorial Soccer Complex1,006
Old Dominion MonarchsNorfolk, VirginiaOld Dominion Soccer Complex4,000
South Carolina GamecocksColumbia, South CarolinaStone Stadium5,700
UCF KnightsOrlando, FloridaUCF Soccer and Track Stadium2,000
West Virginia MountaineersMorgantown, West VirginiaDick Dlesk Soccer Stadium1,600

Coaches

Lee Squires was hired in December of 2022 to become the Head Coach of the Georgia Southern Eagles.[2] Note: All stats current through the completion of the 2022 season

TeamHead coachPrevious jobYears at schoolOverall recordRecord at schoolSBC recordRef.
Coastal CarolinaShaun DockingCharleston Southern26[3]
Georgia SouthernLee SquiresLander0[4]
Georgia StateBrett SurrencyGeorgia State (asst.)14[5]
James MadisonPaul ZazenskiJames Madison (asst.)6
KentuckyJohan CedergrenDartmouth (asst.)12
MarshallChris GrassieCharleston (WV)7[6]
Old DominionAlan DawsonNorth Carolina (asst.)26
South CarolinaTony AnnanAtlanta United Academy3
UCFScott CalabreseFIU6
West VirginiaDan StratfordCharleston (WV)4

Preseason

Preseason poll

The preseason poll will be released in late August 2023.

SBC preseason poll
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
style= width=75Coastal Carolina — —
style= width=75Georgia Southern — —
style= width=75Georgia State — —
style= width=75James Madison — —
style= width=75Kentucky 3 (1) 6
style= width=75Marshall 11 9
style= width=75Old Dominion — —
style= width=75South Carolina — —
style= width=75UCF — —
style= width=75West Virginia — —

Preseason awards

Preseason All SBC

Position Player Class School
GoalkeeperCasper MolsSo.Kentucky
DefenderAnderson RosaSr.UCF
Max MillerSo.Kentucky
Morris DugganSr.Marshall
MidfielderGavin WilliamsSo.Georgia State
Alex KarkowiakR-Jr.James Madison
Eythor KjartanssonSo.Coastal Carolina
Andrew EricksonSr.Kentucky
ForwardCasper GreningJr.Kentucky
Lucca DouradoSr.UCF
Simon CarlsonSr.Georgia State
Matthew BellSo.Marshall

Regular season

National rankings

See main article: 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer rankings.

  Improvement in ranking
 Drop in ranking
NRNot Ranked
  PreWk
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 CarolinaNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNone releasedNR
NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
Georgia SouthernNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNone releasedNR
NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
Georgia StateNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNone releasedNR
NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
James MadisonNR178912NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNone released18
NRNRNR24NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR1313141414
Kentucky321924NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNone releasedNR
6591125NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
Marshall1152211111641None released8
96221111166311999
Old DominionNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNone releasedNR
NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
South CarolinaNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNone releasedNR
NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
UCFNV1365332221112None released19
NRNR1715432222191421212121
West VirginiaNRNR16424375275None released3
NRNRNR1027410614222113

Awards

Source:[9]

2023 Sun Belt Men's Soccer Individual Awards
AwardRecipient(s)
Coach of the YearScott Calabrese – UCF
Offensive Player of the YearMatthew Bell – Marshall
Defensive Player of the YearMorris Duggan – Marshall
Goalkeeper of the YearGabriel Perrotta – Marshall
Newcomer of the YearSaku Heiskanen – UCF
Freshman of the YearSaku Heiskanen – UCF
2023 Sun Belt Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams
First TeamSecond Team
Player – School
Player - School
etc		Player - School
Player - School

MLS SuperDraft

See main article: 2024 MLS SuperDraft.

The 2024 MLS SuperDraft was held on December 19, 2023.

Total picks by school

TeamRound 1Round 2Round 3Comp.Total
Coastal Carolina00000
Georgia State00000
Georgia Southern00000
James Madison00000
Kentucky00101
Marshall10102
Old Dominion00000
South Carolina00000
UCF01001
West Virginia30003

List of selections

Round Pick # MLS team Player Position College Nationality Ref.
116Real Salt LakeMatthew BellFWMarshall [10]
120Minnesota United FCMarcus Caldeira[11]
125Yutaro TsukadaFWWest Virginia [12]
128Los Angeles FCJackson LeeGKWest Virginia[13]
243Colorado RapidsAnderson RosaDFUCF[14]
367Minnesota United FCMorris DugganDFMarshall [15]
377Atlanta United FCCasper MolsGKKentucky[16]

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://sunbeltsports.org/documents/2023/8/24//2023_SBC_Men_s_Soccer_Statistics.pdf
  2. Web site: Georgia Southern Tabs Lee Squires as Men's Soccer Coach . 14 December 2022 .
  3. Web site: Shaun Docking - Men's Soccer Coach . goccusports.com.
  4. Web site: Lee Squires - Men's Soccer Coach . gseagles.com.
  5. Web site: 2022 MSOC Record Book . georgiastatesports.com . August 12, 2023 . December 12, 2022.
  6. Web site: Chris Grassie - Men's Soccer Coach. herdzone.com.
  7. Web site: Sun Belt Announces Men's Soccer Preseason Awards & Poll . 14 August 2023 .
  8. Web site: United Soccer Coaches Top 25 DI Men - National . . August 5, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230805175253/https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/rankings/college-rankings/ncaa-di-men/ . August 5, 2023 . . August 1, 2023.
  9. Web site: 2023 Sun Belt Men's Soccer Awards and All-Conference Teams Announced . 3 November 2023 .
  10. Web site: Real Salt Lake Signs First-Round 2024 Draft Pick Matthew Bell. Major League Soccer. February 19, 2024. February 20, 2024.
  11. Web site: Marcus Caldeira announces return to WVU Men's Soccer . Blain . Luke . January 9, 2024 . TheDAonline.com . The DA . January 15, 2023.
  12. Web site: Orlando City B signs MLS SuperDraft selection Yutaro Tsukada . March 15, 2024 . OrlandoCitySC.com . Orlando City . March 22, 2024.
  13. Web site: Rhode Island FC Signee Drafted in First Round of MLS SuperDraft . December 22, 2023 . RhodeIslandFC.com . Rhode Island FC . December 22, 2023.
  14. Web site: Anderson Rosa Selected by Rapids in MLS SuperDraft 2024 Second Round .
  15. Web site: Minnesota United Signs MLS SuperDraft 2024 Pick Morris Duggan. Major League Soccer. February 23, 2024. February 24, 2024.
  16. Web site: Casper Mols Drafted to Atlanta United FC in 2024 adidas MLS SuperDraft . 19 December 2023 .

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