RICHARDSON, Texas — With 18 newcomers on the St. Mary's University Men's Soccer team, the prognosticators in the Lone Star Conference were unsure of the new look Rattlers and voted the team eighth in the 11-team league preseason poll.
Defending national champion Midwestern State was chosen to repeat as champions, receiving 30 of the 33 first-team votes and 351 points. Rival St. Edward's has been selected second with 293 points, while UT Dallas (2 first-place votes, 290 points), Lubbock Christian (1, 241) and UT Tyler (198) round out the top five.
The Rattlers garnered 161 points, finishing behind DBU (187) and West Texas A&M (175), and ahead of Oklahoma Christian (133), Sul Ross State (75) and Texas A&M International (74).
Midwestern State also swept the preseason awards, as Parker Plaxco was named the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, David Mays is the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, and Jake Morris is the Goalkeeper of the Year.
Sophomore
Kai Louviere (Hondo, Texas), a transfer from TAMIU, was named a Player to Watch on offense by the Lone Star Conference, while senior
AJ Valdivia (Perris, Calif.) is a Defensive Player to Watch, and sophomore
Fabian Enriquez (Longview, Texas) is a Goalkeeper to Watch.
The Rattlers open the 2026 season on August 27 against Colorado State Pueblo at 6 p.m., one of nine home matches for the Gold and Blue.
LSC Notes
- All 11 LSC men's soccer teams are eligible to win the regular season title and advance to the LSC and NCAA Division II postseason tournaments.
- The six-team LSC men's soccer tournament is scheduled for Oct. 31 (quarterfinals), Nov. 4 (semifinals) and Nov. 7 (final). The quarterfinals will be held on campus of the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds; the semifinals are hosted by the No. 1 and No. 2 seed; and title match will be hosted by the highest remaining seed.
- The NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship is set for Dec. 3 and 5 at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
- All LSC soccer regular season and tournament matches can be viewed live on FloCollege. Monthly, yearly and family subscriptions are available.
