Marlborough, Mass. - August 21, 2026 - Coming off a season that saw Wheaton College make its way to the NCAA Division III National Quarterfinals, the Lyons earned six of nine first place votes and have been projected to win the league title this year as the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) released its Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll on Friday morning.
Wheaton, under the direction of defending NEWMAC Coach of the Year Bryan Waggoner will enter the season ranked seventh in the United Soccer Coaches Division III national poll, its highest ranking for the squad since 2004. The Lyons return four All-Conference selections including First Teamer Owen Kane and Second Teamer Decland Rhatigan. Despite falling in last year's NEWMAC semifinal round, the Lyons went on to roll through the NCAA tournament field defeating Neumann, No. 14 Middlebury and Macalester en route to the quarterfinal round at No. 4 St. Olaf ultimately ending the year with 17 wins, the most for the program since 2014.
Babson received the other three first place votes and in 2025 won its fifth NEWMAC title in the last six seasons under the guidance of Jon Anderson, who will embark in his 41st season on the sidelines with the Beavers being the longest tenured current men's soccer head coach in the conference. Babson will return a pair of NEWMAC All-Conference First Team selections in Alexander Yablonovsky and Will Lloyd, a duo that helped the Beavers beat Coast Guard and WPI in the NEWMAC playoffs and SUNY Oneonta in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
Coast Guard will welcome back a large senior class for the 2026 slate - a group of nine student-athletes including forwards Jake Fish and Cole Miller as well as goalkeeper Samuel Linkous. The Bears picked up a trio of conference wins last year and forged their way to the NEWMAC semifinal round after earning points in seven of eight conference games in 2025. Coast Guard finished just two points ahead of WPI in this year's poll.
WPI, which knocked off top-seeded Wheaton in the NEWMAC semifinal round a season ago, brings back a veteran squad of seven seniors and eight juniors as the Engineers look to claim their first conference crown since 2023. Brian Kelley's 2026 squad will feature Eli Marden and Mike Montabana, both who picked up NEWMAC All-Conference nods a season ago.
Springfield and Emerson tied for fifth in the preseason coaches poll this fall both garnering 29 points in the process. The Pride defeated Coast Guard at home during the regular season to secure a berth to the postseason once again and earned the most regulars Eason wins under head coach Tommy Crabill since 2021. Rising senior Connor Policarpio will be the leading returner for Springfield in 2026. Emerson will welcome back Daniel Bede, a rising senior defenseman, who earned All-NEWMAC First Team accolades a season ago. The Lions were clipped by WPI in overtime in last year's conference tournament, but will see the young 2025 squad return to the pitch with seven seniors contend for a NEWMAC title this fall.
Salve Regina and MIT finished just one point apart in this year's poll with the Seahawks receiving 24 points and MIT receiving 23 points. Junior goalkeeper Adonis Santiago will be the backbone of the 2026 Salve Regina defensive unit, while graduate student Ben Tomas will anchor the offense -both after earning an All-Conference nods last year. Tomas will be one of 16 upperclassmen returning for the Seahawks this fall. MIT, meanwhile, lost just four seniors a season ago and return both All-Conference selections from last fall in Shikhar Motupally and Dilin Meloni. The Engineers will be under the direction of first-year head coach Andrew Storton as he will look to bring a NEWMAC title back to Cambridge for the first time since 2012.
Clark rounds out this year's poll and has a roster this fall that will feature nine seniors and a pair of juniors under head coach Samuel Matteson in just his second year on the sidelines for the Cougars. Rising junior Carter Benoff tied for first on the team a season ago with seven points for Clark, which featured a pair of goals and three helpers.
2026 NEWMAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
Team, Points (First-Place Votes)
1 - Wheaton, 62 (6)
2 - Babson, 53 (3)
3 - Coast Guard, 49
4 - WPI, 47
T5 - Springfield, 29
T5 - Emerson, 29
7 - Salve Regina, 24
8 - MIT, 23
9 - Clark, 8
A look at the NEWMAC Men's Soccer Head Coaches
Wheaton - Bryan Waggoner - 20th Season - 177-120-47
Babson - Jon Anderson - 41st Season - 482-209-98
Coast Guard - Chris Parsons - 30th Season - 242-198-68
WPI - Brian Kelley - 18th Season - 156-98-47
Springfield - Tommy Crabill - 9th Season - 49-62-15
Emerson - Liam McKersie - 4th Season - 20-25-11
Salve Regina - Bill Lawler - 15th Season - 82-143-19
MIT - Andrew Storton - 1st Season - 0-0
Clark - Samuel Matteson - 2nd Season - 5-9-3
The 2026 season kicks off on Tuesday, September 1 with four teams in action in the 4:00 pm slot including Coast Guard, MIT, Clark and Emerson before four other squads begin their slates later that day as Babson will host Gordon, Salve Regina will host UMass Boston, WPI will host Endicott and Springfield will travel to Saint Joseph (CT). Wheaton won't begin its 2026 season until Friday at NESCAC rival Colby.
A conference champion will be crowned on Sunday, November 8 with that team receiving the league's automatic berth to the 2026 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 13 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Saint Anselm College (beginning reclassification process with NCAA in 2027-28), Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with seven Associate Members: New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 21 sports.