ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) released the 2026 Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll on Tuesday with UW-Superior being predicted to win the conference championship. The poll is voted on by all the head coaches in the conference. Coaches cannot vote for their own team.

Complete poll: 
 

Place	School	Points
1	UW-Superior (6)	36
2	Bethany Lutheran (1)	31
3	Northwestern	24
4	Minnesota Morris	20
5	Crown	18
6	North Central	12
7	Martin Luther	6

#1 UW-Superior: 36 points
The Yellowjackets led the preseason poll with 36 points and six first-place votes from their conference competitors. 

UW-Superior has won the last eight-straight UMAC regular season titles (one shared with Bethany Lutheran in 2021) and nine-straight tournament championships.

Head Coach: Joe Mooney | 19th Season |
 
Top Returners

• Seth Davidson, So., F | UMAC Rookie of the Year, Second-team All-UMAC | 16 goals, 8 assists, 40 points |
• Harvey McLoughlin, Jr., M | First-team All-UMAC | United Soccer Coaches All-Region Fourth-team | 15 assists, 4 goals, 1,392 minutes |
• Jacob Wyles, Sr., D | UMAC Defensive POY, First-team All-UMAC | 3 goals, 2 assists, 1,580 minutes |

#2 Bethany Lutheran:  31 points
The Vikings received 31 points and the final first-place vote to rank second in this poll.

Head Coach: Derick Lyngholm | 8th Season |

Top Returners

• Jamie Van Wijland, Sr., D| First-team All-UMAC | Third-team All-Region | 2 goals, 1 assist, 5pts
• Guilherme Gancho, Jr., M| Second-team  All-UMAC | 8 goals, 4 assists, 20 pts
• Ted Tendaie, So., F| First-team All-UMAC | 8 goals, 6 assists, 22 pts

#3 Northwestern: 24 points

The Eagles earned 24 points to rank third.

Head Coach: Greg Wheaton | 27th Season |

Top Returners

• Troy Johnson, Sr., D| Second-team All-UMAC | 1 goal and 2 assists (career)
• Joe Nygaka, Jr., F| 1 goal and 2 assists (career)

#4 Minnesota Morris: 20 points

The Cougars ranked fourth with 20 points.

Head Coach: Blake Ordell | 2nd season |

Top Returners

• Cade Simonson, Sr, D| UMAC Honorable Mention | 
• Burke Sheppard, Sr, M | 
• Jake Anargyros, So, M | UMAC Honorable Mention | 4th in UMAC goal scoring for 2025 |

#5: Crown: 18 points

The Polars earned 18 points to be tabbed fifth.

Head Coach: Alex Hosler | 3rd Season | 
 
Top Returners 

• Diego Cuellar Flores, Sr., M| Appeared in 50 matches in his career | 
• Jude McVety ,Sr., M | Appeared in 44 matches in his career |

#6 North Central: 12 points

The Rams received 12 points to be selected sixth.

Head Coach: Keith Bleyer | 3rd Season |
 
Top Returners 

• Santiago Grams, SR, F | UMAC Honorable Mention | NCCAA All-Region | 4 goals and 3 assists (12 points) 
• Steven Griffith, SO, M | NCU Athletics Rookie of the Year | NCCAA All-Region | 2 goals and 3 assists (7 points) | Led team in total minutes (1439) 
• Samuel Tivane Jr., SO, M | 3 goals and 1 assist (7 points) 
• Gerald Nolasco, SR, D | NCCAA Scholar-Athlete | UMAC Academic All-Conference | Returning co-captain 

#7 Martin Luther: 6 points
The Knights completed the poll with six points.

Head Coach: Nicolas Schmoller | 5th Season |

Top Returners

• Josh Krenke, Jr, F| 1x All-UMAC Honorable Mention | 2 goals |
• Abe Schlomer, Jr, F| 1 goal, 1 assist |
• Nick Russ, Jr, GK | 39 saves, .848 save % |

The 2026 men’s soccer regular season opens on Tuesday, Sept. 1. The top four teams in the standings at the close of the regular season will compete in the UMAC Tournament, with the semifinals scheduled for Wednesday, November 4 and the championship game slated for Saturday, November 7. The tournament champion will receive the UMAC’s automatic qualifying bid to the 2026 NCAA DIII Men’s Soccer Championship to compete in the national tournament.