NEW YORK (Aug. 15, 2023) – A pair of preseason top-25 teams earned the top spots in their respective divisions, as the BIG EAST Conference announced the Preseason Coaches’ Poll and all-conference awards on Tuesday. No. 8 Creighton was selected by the league’s men’s soccer coaches to finish as the top team in the Midwest Division, while No. 17 Georgetown was unanimously selected to win the East Division.
 
Butler’s Palmer Ault was voted BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Georgetown’s Kenny Nielsen garnered the preseason Defensive Player of the Year award and Georgetown’s Ryan Schewe earned the preseason accolade of Goalkeeper of the Year.
 
Starting this season, men’s soccer expands the league to 12 teams after adding The University of Akron as an affiliate member in November. In addition, the league’s conference tournament will expand to eight teams for the first time since realignment.
 
Over an eight-match conference season, the team with the highest overall conference points will secure the No. 1 seed, while the team in the opposite division with the highest conference point total will secure the No. 2 seed. The remaining six seeds, regardless of division, will be determined by conference points. Quarterfinal action will get underway on Saturday, Nov. 4, with the top four seeds hosting matches.
 
Georgetown, the 2022 BIG EAST championship runner-up and regular-season champion, topped the East Division preseason poll with 66 points while earning all 11 possible first-place votes. Providence followed suit with 56 points and the remaining first-place vote. In the Midwest Division, 2022 BIG EAST Champion Creighton led the way with 63 points and eight first-place votes. Just two points apart and both receiving two-first place votes, Butler (50 points) edged Akron (48 points) to rank second in the poll.
 
Entering the 2023 campaign ranked eighth in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, Creighton reached the sixth College Cup in program history after becoming the first BIG EAST team to win the conference tournament as the No. 6 seed. Creighton opens the season on the road against No. 7 Stanford at 6 p.m. ET on Aug. 24.
 
Georgetown capped the 2022 season 12-6-3 (8-1-1 BIG EAST), while closing the year strong with an 11-2-1 mark. The Hoyas’ season ended in the second round of the NCAA tournament, in a back and forth double-overtime defeat against No. 15 seed Tulsa.

Receiving 13 votes in the national poll, Providence checks in at second in the East Division, while St. John’s is third with 40 points.

Rounding out the East Division, Seton Hall ranks fourth with 36 points, while Connecticut and Villanova tied for fifth with 24 points each.
 
Following Creighton, Butler and No. 22 Akron, Xavier checks in at fourth in the Midwest Division with 39 points. Rounding out the rankings, Marquette has been picked fifth with 29 points, while DePaul ranks sixth with 17 points.
 
Akron, Creighton, Georgetown and Seton Hall were each NCAA Tournament teams last season, with the Zips earning a top-16 seed and Creighton reaching the College Cup. The Bluejays came up short, 3-2, against No. 3 seed and eventual National Champion Syracuse in the semifinals.
 
A member of the 2022 All-BIG EAST First Team and United Soccer Coaches All-East Region First Team, the unanimous BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Ault will once again look to lead the Bulldogs offensive attack in 2023. Starting all 19 matches as a freshman, Ault led the Bulldogs with 26 points, 10 goals and six assists in his first season in Indianapolis. The sophomore forward ranked among the top-10 in multiple BIG EAST categories in 2022, including game-winning goals (1st), goals (2nd), points (3rd), assists (6th), shot accuracy (8^th) and shots per game (10^th). In the BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal against Providence, Ault advanced the Bulldogs to the semifinals with a two-goal performance.
 
A two-time Third Team All-BIG EAST honoree and a 2022 team captain, Nielsen returns for his senior campaign looking to lead the Hoyas’ backline. Starting in all 19 games as a junior, he was part of a defense that managed seven shutouts in 2022. Nielsen also added his second career goal and dished out an assist during the campaign. Over the course of Nielsen’s first three seasons, he has earned 52 starts.
 
A Second Team All-BIG EAST honoree, Schewe made the most of his opportunities in his first season seeing action in net for the Hoyas. The senior started all 15 matches he appeared in for Georgetown, tallying 57 saves and seven shutouts for a 0.75 goals-against average and an 11-2-1 record. His totals led the BIG EAST in GAA and ranked 18th in the nation, while his shutouts were second in the BIG EAST. After boasting back-to-back shutouts in mid-October, he was named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week (Oct. 26) and BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week (Oct. 24).
 
A total of 11 student-athletes were named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, including Ault, Nielsen and Schewe. Georgetown leads the way with four individuals on the list, followed by Creighton and Providence with two each. Ault was unanimously voted to the team.
 
All-BIG EAST honors and preseason polls were decided by a vote of the league’s head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own team or players. The 2023 season gets underway on Thursday, Aug. 24. Conference action begins Friday, Sept. 15.
 
BIG EAST Preseason Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Poll
East Division
(first-place votes)
1. Georgetown (11)         66
2. Providence (1)              56
3. St. John's                        40
4. Seton Hall                      36
5. Connecticut                   24
5. Villanova                        24
Midwest Division
(first-place votes)
1. Creighton (8)                 63
2. Butler (2)                       50
3. Akron (2)                        48
4. Xavier                             39
5. Marquette                      29
6. DePaul                            17
 
Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Palmer Ault, So., F, Butler
 
Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Kenny Nielsen, Sr., D, Georgetown
 
Preseason BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Ryan Schewe, Sr., GK, Georgetown
 
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Ryan Schewe, Sr., GK, Georgetown
Kenny Nielsen, Sr., D, Georgetown
Kieran Sargeant, Jr., D, Georgetown
Makel Rasheed, Sr., D, Xavier
Jackson Castro, Jr., M, Creighton
Giorgio Probo, Sr., M, Creighton
Luis Garcia, Grad., M, Providence
Dyson Clapier, So., F, Akron
Palmer Ault, So., F, Butler *
Marlon Tabora, Sr., F, Georgetown
Gevork Diarbian, Sr., F, Providence
*unanimous selection