By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – It took extra time at the inaugural Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championships to separate Seattle Pacific and Western Oregon last fall, and this year’s preseason coaches poll results were just as close.
 
The Falcons garnered 32 points including a pair of first-place votes, emerging as the narrow favorite ahead of the Wolves who grabbed three first-place votes and totaled 30 points. The two teams shared last year’s GNAC regular-season title, before WOU emerged with a 2-1, overtime victory to claim the first-ever men’s soccer conference tournament trophy.
 
In the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll released on Aug. 4, Seattle Pacific represented the conference checking in at No. 24 while Western Oregon was among the teams also receiving votes.
 

2026 GNAC Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank	Team (1st Place Votes)	Points	2025 Record	2025 GNAC Record (Finish)
1	Seattle Pacific (2)	32	12-5-4	6-2-2 (T1st)
2	Western Oregon (3)	30	11-5-4	6-2-2 (T1st)
3	Western Washington	24	8-8-3	6-3-1 (3rd)
T4	Northwest Nazarene (1)	17	7-7-4	3-5-2 (5th)
T4	Simon Fraser	17	6-9-3	5-4-1 (4th)
6	Saint Martin's	6	1-17	0-10 (6th)
Points awarded on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

Seattle Pacific begins the 2026 campaign after going 12-5-4 overall and taking a share of the conference title at 6-2-2 in league play for 20 points. It was the Falcons’ sixth men’s soccer crown and first since the 2021 season, as they now trail only Simon Fraser (eight titles) for the most since the league was formed in 2001. SPU’s successful season came to an end against eventual Division II national champion Midwestern State, which knocked them off 1-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Regional Championships. Kevin Sakuda’s five-year tenure in charge has been positive, as he holds a 44-30-20 (.574) overall record and a mark of 26-17-13 (.480) in league fixtures.
 
The first four seasons of Western Oregon men’s soccer have been a flurry of success, as the Wolves earned their second-straight GNAC crown and second-straight appearance at the national tournament last fall. WOU went 11-5-4 overall and matched SPU at 6-2-2 for 20 points during the conference slate. After adding the inaugural GNAC Championships trophy to the hardware, WOU’s season closed with a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Hawaii Hilo in the opening round of the NCAA Championships. Andrew May will begin his first season leading the Wolves program this fall, as he replaces Michael Behonick who had three winning seasons in Monmouth, Ore., from 2023-25.
 
Slated third in the preseason coaches poll was Western Washington, which tallied 24 points to be projected in the spot it finished a year ago. The Vikings posted an 8-8-3 overall record and finished just short of the regular-season title at 6-3-1 for 19 points in 2025. WWU’s season concluded with a 5-3 loss to Seattle Pacific in the opening round of the conference tournament. The second-winningest coach in GNAC men’s soccer history, Greg Brisbon returns for his 14th season in charge of the program. Since taking the reigns in 2013, Brisbon is 111-76-37 (.578) overall and holds a league record of 77-46-23 (.606). Only Mark Collings, who led Seattle Pacific for 13 years from 2008-2020, has more GNAC victories with 87.
 
Northwest Nazarene and Simon Fraser tied for fourth in the preseason coaches rankings, each grabbing 17 points. The Nighthawks are coming off a 7-7-4 overall record in 2025, and they took fifth place in the GNAC standings with 11 points on a 3-5-2 conference record. Longtime assistant coach Julio Castillo, who was the 2015 GNAC Player of the Year and an All-American at NNU, was promoted to head coach in the offseason. He will replace James Williamson, who led the Nighthawks for three seasons from 2023-25. Castillo holds the GNAC career record for assists per game with 0.67, and his 24 total career assists are tied for third-most in conference history.
 
Simon Fraser will also be under new leadership, with longtime assistant coach Kevin Harmse taking charge in place of Clint Schneider who departed after 11 seasons. The Red Leafs finished fourth in last year’s conference table, going 5-4-1 for 16 points and holding an overall record of 6-9-3. SFU’s most recent GNAC title came in 2023 – it’s conference-best eighth since it joined the NCAA ahead of the 2010 campaign.
 
Completing the men’s soccer preseason poll was Saint Martin’s which earned six points. The Saints went 1-17 overall in 2025 and were 0-10 in league matches to take sixth place. Rob Walker is the longest tenured coach in GNAC men’s soccer history as he begins his 20th season leading the Saints. He led SMU to its lone men’s soccer championship during the 2009 season.
 
The 2026 GNAC men’s soccer season begins on Thursday with all six of the conference’s teams in action. Conference games kick off on Sept. 24 as the teams battle for a top-three spot in the standings to earn a berth into the 2026 GNAC Men’s Soccer Championships. This year’s conference tournament runs Nov. 5-7 at Interbay Stadium and is hosted by Seattle Pacific University. All contests hosted by GNAC schools will air live on the GNAC Network, with single-match and season-long purchase packages available online here.
 
The winner of the GNAC Championships tournament earns the conference’s automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA West Region Championships, which run Nov. 12-15 on campus sites. The 2026 Division II NCAA Men’s Soccer Championships are Dec. 3-5 at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The complete 2026 GNAC men’s soccer schedule can be viewed online here.