NEW ORLEANS (JMU Athletics) – In a vote by the 10 Sun Belt Conference men’s soccer head coaches, James Madison was picked to finish sixth in the league as the Sun Belt announced its preseason poll and awards on Wednesday afternoon.
National finalist Marshall was picked to win the league, receiving eight first-place votes and 97 points. Defending Sun Belt champion West Virginia received the two other first-place votes and was picked second with 92 points. Rounding out the top five ahead of the Dukes are UCF (74 points), Kentucky (67 points) and South Carolina (65 points).
The Dukes return 11 student-athletes from last season’s squad that finished sixth in the Sun Belt and advanced to the semifinals in the conference tournament. Those 11 are joined by a recruiting class that is ranked 30th in the country by TopDrawerSoccer in the outlet’s July rankings. The class features 16 newcomers that includes five freshmen and 11 transfers.
Junior Jeffrey Aguilar is the top returning point scorer for JMU, recording 10 points a season ago from three goals and four assists.
JMU begins it season on Thursday, Aug. 21 as they welcome Fordham to Sentara Park for a 7:30 p.m. match during the Fairfield at Marriott Invitational.
2025 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Soccer Preseason Awards
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year:
Marcus Caldeira, West Virginia (Sr., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year:
Takahiro Fujita, Marshall (Jr., Nara, Japan)
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year:
Sebastian Conlon, Kentucky (Sr., Reston, Va.)
Preseason All-Sun Belt Team
F – Ethan Ballek, South Carolina (Sr., Timnath, Colo.)
F – Marcus Caldeira, West Virginia (Sr., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada)
F – Ryan Holmes, Georgia Southern (Jr., Milton Keys, England)
M – Agustin Lopez, Kentucky (So., Santa Fe, Argentina)
M – Isaac Scheer, West Virginia (So., Charlotte, N.C.)
M – Alexander Stjernegaard, South Carolina (Sr., Rungsted Kyst, Denmark)
M – Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez, South Carolina (So., Knoxville, Tenn.)
D – Takahiro Fujita, Marshall (Jr., Nara, Japan)
D – Carlos Hernando, West Virginia (Grad., Madrid, Spain)
D – Josh Gordon, Kentucky (Jr., Scarborough, Ontario)
GK – Sebastian Conlon, Kentucky (Sr., Reston, Va.)
*Ties were not broken.
2025 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Marshall (8) – 97
2. West Virginia (2) – 92
3. UCF – 74
4. Kentucky – 67
5. South Carolina – 65
6. James Madison – 48
7. Old Dominion – 36
8. Georgia Southern – 30
9. Georgia State – 24
10. Coastal Carolina – 17
Parentheses indicate first-place votes
— JMU Athletics —
