Mary Washington is the favorite in the 2024 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Men's Soccer Preseason Poll, following a vote among the conference head coaches. The Eagles, who have won the last two league titles, collected 16 points and four first-place votes to top the rankings.

Christopher Newport claimed one first-place vote and 13 points to finish second. Salisbury collected nine points for third place in the rankings, while UC Santa Cruz was fourth (8) and Warren Wilson fifth (4) in the poll.

The 2024 season kicks off August 30 with the C2C Men's Soccer Championship, a 5-team tournament, hosted by Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on November 7-8-10.

Below is a brief preview of each team entering the 2024 season:

Mary Washington: The UMW men's soccer program comes into the 2024 season ranked in the top 10 for the second year in a row. The Eagles were ranked No. 9 two weeks ago by the United Soccer Coaches and are coming off another very successful season after reaching the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship, winning 18 games, and hosting the first two weekends of the NCAA Tournament.  Head coach Jason Kilby returns most of the roster from the 2023 season, which includes 10 of the 11 Eagles' starters from the NCAA Tournament team. All-Americans Carter Berg (13 goals, 10 assists in 2023) and Gabe Francesconi (four goals, seven assists) come back to lead the offense, while Nelsar Castillo (graduate), Julian Schmugge (senior), Jordy Santana (senior), Joel Albritton (senior), and Sammy Amorose (junior) are on the 2024 roster as well. Aidan Shell (graduate), Nathan Macek (junior), Nathan Terrell (graduate) return to lead the backline, which only allowed 16 goals in 22 total games played.  Senior keeper Freddy Rogers will also return to the net after recording 77 saves and leading the Eagles to an 18-2-2 record last fall.  UMW also brings in transfer Jared Dubose from Radford (Div. I) as a graduate student. 

Christopher Newport: The 50th anniversary of CNU men's soccer will begin with the Captains receiving votes in the preseason coaches poll released by the United Soccer Coaches. Last season CNU extended a four-year streak in which the Captains reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament under head coach Justin Chezem. Returning its three leading scorers from a year ago, the offense is headlined by fifth-year senior Mason Field, sophomore Drew McWhinney, and senior Barry Jones. Field and Jones each earned All-Region honors a year ago and combined for 28 points. CNU will play its first eight games of the season at home and 12 overall at Captains Field in 2024 starting with the Steve Shaw Classic on August 30-31.

Salisbury: The Sea Gulls look to build on a 2023 season that saw them finish 7-5-5, shaving seven losses off their total from '22 and clinching the program's first winning season since 2018. Salisbury secured some significant results, including an early draw with No. 2 Messiah and a late-season triumph over No. 25 Christopher Newport. The team welcomes back a pair of All-C2C honorees in junior midfielder/forward Gavin Miller (4 goals, 1,306 minutes across 17 starts) and sophomore forward/defender Dale Gordon (2 goals, 1,173 minutes across 17 starts) to help guide a team with 11 freshmen entering the fray.

UC Santa Cruz: The Banana Slugs men's soccer team is set to embark on their 2024 campaign with 18 returners from last season's 10-6-4 squad. Last year UCSC reached the C2C Semifinals and will bring back third team All-Region and second team All- Conference defender Max Beldner along with first team All-C2C midfielder Torin Volkamer. Beldner's All-Region selection comes after starting all 20 games for the Banana Slugs in 2023 where he led the team with 1,706 minutes played while scoring four goals and helping anchor a defense that allowed just 1.35 goals a game. Volkamer makes his return to the Banana Slugs after scoring six goals last season, including three game-winners, while dishing out four assists.

Warren Wilson: The Owls are a young team in 2024 with nine returners and 10 newcomers.  Manuel Perez is in his first season as head coach and expects the motivated squad to compete.