Mountain West Announces Preseason Coaches’ Poll, Players to Watch
8/12/2026 1:52:00 PM | Men's Soccer
LAS VEGAS– Air Force was picked to finish fifth in the inaugural Mountain West men's soccer preseason coaches' poll as voted on by the league's six head coaches. Grand Canyon and San José State have been voted as the 2026 preseason favorites to capture
Both San Jose State and Grand Canyon earned 22 points each with GCU claiming four first-place votes and SJSU earning two first-place votes. The Lopes enter the 2026 season under the direction of first-year head coach Jamie Davies and ranked No. 21 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Spartans are coming off a WAC championship match appearance in 2025 and earned 12 wins for the first time since 2003.
UC Davis was selected to finish the upcoming season in third place with 15 points, while UNLV was picked fourth with 14 points. Rounding out the poll is Air Force in fifth with 10 points and Utah Tech in sixth with seven points.
The Mountain West also announced the 2026 MW Men's Soccer Watch List, as selected by the Conference's head coaches, featuring three student-athletes from each program. Sophomores Tucker Kern and Quinn Muderlak, and senior Logan Zaa were selected as Air Force's players to watch.
The 2026 season kicks off on Thursday, Aug. 20. Catch all the action on the pitch on MW+, the official streaming destination for Mountain West men's soccer. Stream every match live all season long on the web, the MW+ mobile app for iPhone and Android, or your connected TV, including Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku. Subscribe today at watch.themw.com.
2026 MW PRESEASON MEN'S SOCCER COACHES' POLL
Pl. Team (1st place votes) Points
1. Grand Canyon (4) 22
1. San José State (2) 22
3. UC Davis 15
4. UNLV 14
5. Air Force 10
6. Utah Tech 7
2026 MW MEN'S SOCCER WATCH LIST
Tucker Kern, So., MF, Air Force
Quinn Muderlak, So., MF, Air Force
Logan Zaa, Sr., F, Air Force
Beltran Fernandez, Sr., GK, Grand Canyon
Jorge Lopez, Sr., MF, Grand Canyon
Martin Luala, Sr., MF, Grand Canyon
Ronin Axelson, Sr., GK, San José State
Angel Fernandez, Sr., MF, San José State
Ruben Flores-Thomas, Sr., D, San José State
Nami Banks, So., D, UC Davis
Josh Gault, So., D, UC Davis
Rafael Matiello, Jr., MF, UC Davis
Bryce Allred, Sr., F, UNLV
Nick Legendre, Sr., F, UNLV
Manolo Vazquez, Jr., MF, UNLV
Luca Campoli, So., GK, Utah Tech
Sanir Cuevas, Jr., F, Utah Tech
Tanner Dutra, Jr., D, Utah Tech
Both San Jose State and Grand Canyon earned 22 points each with GCU claiming four first-place votes and SJSU earning two first-place votes. The Lopes enter the 2026 season under the direction of first-year head coach Jamie Davies and ranked No. 21 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Spartans are coming off a WAC championship match appearance in 2025 and earned 12 wins for the first time since 2003.
UC Davis was selected to finish the upcoming season in third place with 15 points, while UNLV was picked fourth with 14 points. Rounding out the poll is Air Force in fifth with 10 points and Utah Tech in sixth with seven points.
The Mountain West also announced the 2026 MW Men's Soccer Watch List, as selected by the Conference's head coaches, featuring three student-athletes from each program. Sophomores Tucker Kern and Quinn Muderlak, and senior Logan Zaa were selected as Air Force's players to watch.
The 2026 season kicks off on Thursday, Aug. 20. Catch all the action on the pitch on MW+, the official streaming destination for Mountain West men's soccer. Stream every match live all season long on the web, the MW+ mobile app for iPhone and Android, or your connected TV, including Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku. Subscribe today at watch.themw.com.
2026 MW PRESEASON MEN'S SOCCER COACHES' POLL
Pl. Team (1st place votes) Points
1. Grand Canyon (4) 22
1. San José State (2) 22
3. UC Davis 15
4. UNLV 14
5. Air Force 10
6. Utah Tech 7
2026 MW MEN'S SOCCER WATCH LIST
Tucker Kern, So., MF, Air Force
Quinn Muderlak, So., MF, Air Force
Logan Zaa, Sr., F, Air Force
Beltran Fernandez, Sr., GK, Grand Canyon
Jorge Lopez, Sr., MF, Grand Canyon
Martin Luala, Sr., MF, Grand Canyon
Ronin Axelson, Sr., GK, San José State
Angel Fernandez, Sr., MF, San José State
Ruben Flores-Thomas, Sr., D, San José State
Nami Banks, So., D, UC Davis
Josh Gault, So., D, UC Davis
Rafael Matiello, Jr., MF, UC Davis
Bryce Allred, Sr., F, UNLV
Nick Legendre, Sr., F, UNLV
Manolo Vazquez, Jr., MF, UNLV
Luca Campoli, So., GK, Utah Tech
Sanir Cuevas, Jr., F, Utah Tech
Tanner Dutra, Jr., D, Utah Tech
Players Mentioned
Monday, February 02
Monday, February 02
Thursday, January 15
Sunday, September 14
