The Gulf South Conference revealed that AUM topped the 2026 men's soccer preseason poll, while Mississippi Christian led the league in preseason all-conference selections.
The poll and selections for the preseason lineup were determined by the 11 GSC men’s soccer head coaches who could not vote for their team or student-athletes.
It marks the first-time ever the Warhawks landed in the top-spot in the preseason poll after tallying 94 points and four first-place votes. Mississippi Christian, last season’s tournament runner-up, followed in second with 90 points and six first-place votes, while Christian Brothers was third with one first-place vote and 77 points.
Six of the 13 players named to the preseason roster were all-conference performers last season, which included 2025 First Team All-GSC honorees, Benjamin Hoffmann from AUM, Mississippi Christian's Gage Sorey and West Alabama's David Nunez. Mississippi Christian led the way with three total honorees, while UAH, AUM, Christian Brothers, Montevallo and West Alabama had two preseason selections each.
The Conference also announced its 2026 Newcomers to Watch, highlighting 26 players from nine programs. Names and information were submitted by each team’s head coach.
The 2026 season begins Thursday, Aug. 27 with non-conference action, while GSC action kicks off on September 11-13. The GSC Men’s Soccer Championship is set for October 31- November 7, with the semifinal (Nov. 5) and title game (Nov. 7) rounds returning to the Loretta P. Spencer Sports Complex in Huntsville, Ala. Click
here for the full schedule.
2026 GSC Men’s Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll
1. AUM (4), 94 points
2. Mississippi Christian (6), 90 points
3. Christian Brothers (1), 77 points
4. UAH, 68 points
5. Montevallo, 59 points
6. West Alabama, 58 points
7. Lee, 51 points
8. Trevecca Nazarene, 42 points
9. Union, 31 points
10. Delta State, 21 points
11. Spring Hill, 14 points
First-place votes in parentheses
2026 GSC Men’s Soccer Preseason Team
Sonny Wright, Jr., GK, UAH
Oil Orzechowski, Sr., F, UAH^
Alan De Paula, Sr., D, AUM^
Benjamin Hoffmann, Jr., F, AUM*
Olivier van der Tuin, Gr., F, Christian Brothers
Daiki Ebihara, Jr., M, Christian Brothers
Gage Sorey, Sr., D, Mississippi Christian*
Alvaro Pena, Jr., D, Mississippi Christian^
Luke Nolan, So., M, Mississippi Christian
Alexander Mueller, So., M, Montevallo
Dakota Hart, Sr., M, Montevallo
Oisin Griffin, Gr., D, West Alabama
David Nunez, Jr., F, West Alabama*
Organized alphabetically by school
* 2025 First Team All-GSC
^ 2025 Second Team All-GSC
2026 GSC Men’s Soccer Newcomers to Watch List
Marc Lorenz, UAH (Fr., F, Oberstdorf, Germany)
Luis McCabe, UAH (Fr., F, Hull, England)
Ollie Rigby, UAH (Fr., D, Surrey, England)
Luke Butcher, AUM (Jr., D, Brackley, England)
Nathan Le Roux, AUM (Jr., F, Lannion, France)
Malik Mâwd, AUM (Fr., M, Berlin, Germany)
AJ Bowman, Christian Brothers (Jr., M/F, Waterford, Ireland)
Alessandro Merlo, Christian Brothers (Jr., F, Milan, Italy)
Twan Roeling, Christian Brothers (Jr., M/F, Heiloo, Netherlands)
Lian Feridani, Mississippi Christian (Fr., M, Frankfurt, Germany)
Karim Gegg, Mississippi Christian (So., F, Frankfurt, Germany)
Harry McLean, Mississippi Christian (Fr., F, Motherwell, Scotland)
Luis Billep, Montevallo (Fr., M, Rostock, Germany)
Ben Green, Montevallo (So., D, Prattville, Ala.)
Joaquin Wladdimiro, Montevallo (So., F, Santiago, Chile)
Jose “Pepe” Lozano, Spring Hill (Fr., GK, Mexico City, Mexico)
Alvaro Mestre, Spring Hill (So., M, Madrid, Spain)
Joe Coyle, Trevecca Nazarene (Jr., M, Liverpool, England)
Levi Jones, Trevecca Nazarene (M, Freetown, Sierra Leone)
Zion Jones, Trevecca Nazarene (F, Freetown, Sierra Leone)
Simeon Betapudi, Union (Gr., M, Memphis, Tenn.)
Lewis Harding, Union (Fr., F, Wakefield, England)
Nic Peranitsch, Union (Jr., M/F, Franklin, Tenn.)
Yabsira Cobo, West Alabama (Gr., F, Gijon, Spain)
Florian Laot, West Alabama (Fr., M, Bourg-des-comptes, France)
Jack Porter, West Alabama (Fr., D, Carlisle, England)
Organized alphabetically by school