CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC/SMU) – SMU Men's Soccer was picked No. 4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll and
Stephan Soghomonian was included in the Preseason Watch List as announced by the association on Wednesday.
NC State topped the poll with 183 total points. Stanford received a pair of first-place votes and was second in the poll with 171 points. Virginia notched four first-place votes and placed third with 161 points. Reigning ACC champion SMU finished fourth with 146 points, a point ahead of Clemson with 145; the Tigers also secured one first-place vote.
Following their ACC tournament championship in 2025, the Mustangs' recruiting class was ranked No. 3 in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.
Last week, the Mustangs were ranked No. 15 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll. Four ACC teams were ranked in the top 25 with NC State in No. 2, Stanford was picked No. 9 and Virginia was picked No. 11. North Carolina and Duke received votes.
In its third ACC campaign, SMU will face four teams in the preseason top 25. The Mustangs will face No. 4 Saint Louis (Aug. 24), No. 25 Kansas City (Sept. 4), No. 2 NC State (Sept. 18) and No. 9 Stanford (Oct. 16).
Soghomonian was included in the ACC Preseason Watch List following a stellar 2025 season where he scored 13 goals in 20 matches, including scoring SMU's ACC tournament-winning goal against Virginia. He was the second top-scorer in the ACC last season with two hat-tricks.
The 2025 ACC champions will kick off their 2026 season against Stetson on Aug. 20.
2026 ACC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
1. NC State (8), 183
2. Stanford (2), 171
3. Virginia (4), 161
4. SMU, 146
5. Clemson (1), 145
6. North Carolina, 134
7. Duke, 124
8. Notre Dame, 100
9. Wake Forest, 89
10. Syracuse, 86
11. Pitt, 83
12. Virginia Tech, 60
13. California, 48
14. Louisville, 29
15. Boston College, 16
First-place votes in parentheses
2026 ACC Men's Soccer Preseason Watch List
Andrej Borak, So., GK, Boston College
Florentino Junior, Fr., M, California
Ransford Gyan, Jr., M, Clemson
Ulfur Bjornsson, Sr., F, Duke
Ryan Quintos, Sr., D, Louisville
Joschi Schelb, Sr., F, North Carolina
Tyler Caton, Sr., M, NC State
Nolan Spicer, Sr., M, Notre Dame
Niklas Sørensen, Jr., D, Pitt
Stephan Soghomonian, Jr., F, SMU
Dylan Groeneveld, Sr., D, Stanford
Kelvin Da Costa, Jr., M, Syracuse
Sebastian Pop, Sr., D, Virginia
Yanis Belatrache, Sr., M, Virginia Tech
Jeffrey White, Sr., M, Wake Forest
