2024 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season
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| 2024 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Soccer |
| Duration | August 22, 2024 - November 10, 2024 [1] |
| Teams | 10 |
| 2025 MLS SuperDraft | |
| Top draft pick | Ryan Baer |
| Picked by | Seattle Sounders FC |
| Regular Season | |
| West Virginia | West Virginia |
| Runners-up | Marshall |
| Tournament | |
| Champions | West Virginia |
| Runners-up | Marshall |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 West Virginia ‡ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 4 | 13 | – | 2 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Marshall + | 4 | – | 0 | – | 5 | 15 | – | 2 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCF | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 6 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky | 4 | – | 2 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 6 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Carolina | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| James Madison | 3 | – | 3 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Old Dominion | 3 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 8 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia Southern | 2 | – | 5 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coastal Carolina | 1 | – | 5 | – | 3 | 3 | – | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia State | 1 | – | 5 | – | 3 | 4 | – | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Source: Sun Belt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2024 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer season was the 22nd season of men's varsity soccer in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC), as part of the 2024 NCAA Division I men's soccer season.
Marshall won both the Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament championship. West Virginia would make it to the College College Cup, losing in the semifinals to National Champions Clemson.
Teams
Stadiums and locations
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Carolina Chanticleers | Conway, South Carolina | CCU Soccer Complex | 1,000 |
| Georgia Southern Eagles | Statesboro, Georgia | Eagle Field | 3,500 |
| Georgia State Panthers | Decatur, Georgia | GSU Soccer Complex | 1,892 |
| James Madison Dukes | Harrisonburg, Virginia | Sentara Park | 1,500 |
| Kentucky Wildcats | Lexington, Kentucky | Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex | 3,368 |
| Marshall Thundering Herd | Huntington, West Virginia | Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex | 1,006 |
| Old Dominion Monarchs | Norfolk, Virginia | Old Dominion Soccer Complex | 4,000 |
| South Carolina Gamecocks | Columbia, South Carolina | Stone Stadium | 5,700 |
| UCF Knights | Orlando, Florida | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium | 2,000 |
| West Virginia Mountaineers | Morgantown, West Virginia | Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium | 1,600 |
Coaches
Tennant McVea was hired in November 2023 to become the Head Coach of the Old Dominion Monarchs following the retirement of Alan Dawson.[2] Note: All stats current through the completion of the 2023 season
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | Record at school | SBC record | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Carolina | Shaun Docking | Charleston Southern | 27 | 329–176–55 (.637) | 309–157–53 (.646) | 20–14–8 (.571) | [3] |
| Georgia Southern | Lee Squires | Lander | 1 | 142–65–32 (.661) | 2–9–6 (.294) | 1–5–3 (.278) | [4] |
| Georgia State | Brett Surrency | Georgia State (asst.) | 15 | 141–99–21 (.580) | 141–99–21 (.580) | 28–17–7 (.606) | [5] |
| James Madison | Paul Zazenski | James Madison (asst.) | 7 | 130–54–23 (.684) | 60–31–19 (.632) | 6–5–6 (.529) | [6] |
| Kentucky | Johan Cedergren | Dartmouth (asst.) | 13 | 141–64–42 (.656) | 141–64–42 (.656) | 8–3–6 (.647) | |
| Marshall | Chris Grassie | Charleston (WV) | 8 | 184–55–26 (.743) | 85–35–18 (.681) | 11–3–3 (.735) | [7] |
| Old Dominion | Tennant McVea | Old Dominion (asst.) | 0 | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | |
| South Carolina | Tony Annan | Atlanta United Academy | 4 | 16–26–9 (.402) | 16–26–9 (.402) | 4–8–5 (.382) | |
| UCF | Scott Calabrese | FIU | 7 | 139–91–28 (.593) | 54–24–8 (.674) | 6–2–1 (.722) | [8] |
| West Virginia | Dan Stratford | Charleston (WV) | 4 | 86–17–16 (.790) | 25–13–11 (.622) | 8–2–7 (.676) | [9] |
Preseason
Preseason poll
The preseason poll was released in August 2024.
| SBC preseason poll | ||
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marshall | 138 (8) |
| 2 | West Virginia | 132 (2) |
| 3 | UCF | 111 |
| 4 | Kentucky | 108 |
| 5 | James Madison | 106 |
| 6 | South Carolina | 83 |
| 7 | Georgia State | 80 |
| 8 | Old Dominion | 70 |
| 6T | Coastal Carolina | 62 |
| 10 | Georgia Southern | 60 |
Preseason national polls
The preseason national polls were released in August 2024.[11]
| United Soccer |
Top Drawer Soccer | |
| Coastal Carolina | — | |
|---|---|---|
| Georgia Southern | — | |
| Georgia State | — | |
| James Madison | 18 | |
| Kentucky | — | |
| Marshall | 8 | |
| Old Dominion | — | |
| South Carolina | — | |
| UCF | 19 | |
| West Virginia | 3 |
Regular season
National rankings
| Improvement in ranking | ||
| Drop in ranking | ||
| NR | Not Ranked | |
| Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Carolina | USC | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | None released | NR | |||
| TDS | ||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia Southern | USC | NR | None released | |||||||||||||||
| TDS | ||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia State | USC | NR | None released | |||||||||||||||
| TDS | ||||||||||||||||||
| James Madison | USC | 18 | None released | |||||||||||||||
| TDS | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky | USC | NR | None released | |||||||||||||||
| TDS | ||||||||||||||||||
| Marshall | USC | 8 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | None released | 2 | |||
| TDS | ||||||||||||||||||
| Old Dominion | USC | NR | None released | |||||||||||||||
| TDS | ||||||||||||||||||
| South Carolina | USC | NR | None released | |||||||||||||||
| TDS | ||||||||||||||||||
| UCF | USC | 19 | None released | |||||||||||||||
| TDS | ||||||||||||||||||
| West Virginia | USC | 3 | None released | |||||||||||||||
| TDS | ||||||||||||||||||
