By: Nash Loibl, Director of Strategic Communications and Internal Operations
Colorado Springs, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men’s soccer champions are the 2026 preseason favorites, the conference announced Tuesday in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
2026 Preseason Men's Soccer Coaches’ Poll |
| PL |
Team |
1sts |
2nds |
3rds |
Points |
| 1. |
UCCS |
10 |
|
|
100 |
| 2. |
Regis |
1 |
2 |
3 |
85 |
| 3. |
Fort Lewis |
|
3 |
2 |
75 |
| 4. |
MSU Denver |
|
5 |
|
71 |
| 5. |
CSU Pueblo |
|
|
4 |
63 |
| 6. |
Westminster |
|
1 |
|
61 |
| 7. |
Colorado Mesa |
|
|
2 |
57 |
| 8. |
Colorado School of Mines |
|
|
|
31 |
| 9. |
South Dakota Mines |
|
|
|
30 |
| 10. |
Colorado Christian |
|
|
|
23 |
| 11. |
Adams State |
|
|
|
9 |
Notes:
Head coaches were not permitted to vote for their team.
10 points for a 1st-place vote, 9 for 2nd, etc.
100 points maximum in men's soccer. |
The league also announced its 2026 Preseason All-RMAC Men’s Soccer Team with 12 student-athletes earning recognition. Again this season, the RMAC’s preseason teams are determined by placing returning players in order of head coaches’ voting from the league’s 2025 All-RMAC Teams.
The Mountain Lions were the unanimous choice to claim the 2026 RMAC Men’s Soccer preseason title, receiving all 10 possible first-place votes. UCCS enters the season as the defending RMAC champion after capturing its first conference title with a 3-2 victory over Metropolitan State University of Denver. Hugo Sjöberg represents the Mountain Lions on the 2026 RMAC Preseason Team after earning Second Team All-RMAC honors last season.
Regis University was picked to finish second in the preseason poll, earning 85 points. The Rangers received one first-place vote, two second-place votes, and three third-place votes. Regis also placed two players on the RMAC Preseason Team, with Jacobo Betancourt-Tovar and Sahar Golov claiming two of the four midfielder selections. Both earned Second Team All-RMAC honors last season.
Fort Lewis College was picked third with 75 points, followed by Metropolitan State University of Denver with 71 and Colorado State University Pueblo with 63. The ThunderWolves also led all programs with four selections to the 2026 RMAC Preseason Team.
Westminster University was selected sixth with 61 points, narrowly ahead of Colorado Mesa University, which earned 57. Colorado School of Mines (31), South Dakota Mines (30), Colorado Christian University (23), and Adams State University (9) rounded out the 2026 RMAC Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
CSU Pueblo's Nick Cenek and Matty Parkes, the only returning First Team All-RMAC selections from 2025, headline the 2026 RMAC Preseason Team.
Joining Cenek and Parkes are six returning Second Team All-RMAC honorees: Nickolas North (South Dakota Mines), Jacobo Betancourt-Tovar (Regis), Sahar Golov (Regis), Jose Peris Gimeno (CSU Pueblo), Pedro Martinez Castro (CSU Pueblo), and Hugo Sjoberg (UCCS).
2026 Preseason All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference: Men’s Soccer
|
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| F |
Nickolas North (2) |
South Dakota Mines |
Jr. |
Sioux Falls, S.D. |
| F |
Tiago Gomes |
Colorado Christian |
Sr. |
Viana do Castello, Portugal |
| F |
Alvin Udoto |
South Dakota Mines |
Sr. |
Nairobi, Kenya |
| MF |
Nick Cenek (1) |
CSU Pueblo |
Gr. |
Peoria, Ill. |
| MF |
Matty Parkes (1) |
CSU Pueblo |
Jr. |
Newcastle, England |
| MF |
Jacobo Betancourt-Tovar (2) |
Regis |
Sr. |
Frisco, Texas |
| MF |
Sahar Golov (2) |
Regis |
Sr. |
Ramat Hasharon, Israel |
| D |
Jose Peris Gimeno (2) |
CSU Pueblo |
Sr. |
Burriana, Castellon, Spain |
| D |
Pedro Martinez Castro (2) |
CSU Pueblo |
So. |
Langreo, Spain |
| D |
Rider Grow |
South Dakota Mines |
Sr. |
Colorado Springs, Colo. |
| D |
George Jones |
Colorado Mesa |
Sr. |
Braunton, United Kingdom |
| GK |
Hugo Sjoberg (2) |
UCCS |
Sr. |
Kiel, Germany |
| Symbols in parentheses are 2025 All-RMAC Recognitions: 1 -was a First Team All-RMAC selection; 2 - was a Second Team All-RMAC selection; all others were honorable mention selections. |
About the RMAC
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, headquartered in Colorado Springs, is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 institutions located in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah. The RMAC currently competes in 22 NCAA Division II sports and has earned 71 national championships since 1992. Founded in 1909, the RMAC is the most historic athletic conference in the western United States and Division II.
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