sun belt season preview
Will Marshall take home the Sun Belt again, or will UCF or WVU rain on their parade?
July 10, 2024 I Jack Latterman I Sun Belt
I would like to preface all of this by saying that this is an opinion piece. I have watched all these teams play last season and done heavy research to create this preview, but that doesn’t mean it is going to be correct… and that is what makes sports so great! My intention is not to make anyone angry with a preseason poll, as they are rarely accurate anyways. This is what I think might happen and I would love to hear if you agree or disagree.
The Sun Belt was easily the best conference in the regular season in 2023. Marshall, UCF, and West Virginia were all ranked first at one point in the season, and James Madison and Kentucky both made it through 2+ games in the NCAA tournament. Although Marshall and UCF both crashed out early in tournament play, the conference as a whole still had a fantastic season.
Marshall
The Thundering Herd had another fantastic season in 2023, winning 18 games and taking home the conference championship. They were second in the NCAA in total goals scored with 55. They also made it to the Spring League Championship game, where they fell late to Michigan State.
Leading goalscorer Matthew Bell is gone and fellow striker Alvaro Garcia-Pascual is now playing in Spain. They will need to find a replacement for Gabrielle Perrotta who had an incredible .81 goals against average in 2023.
Captain Taimu Okiyoshi is back for his fifth year to lead the Marshall midfield and will be joined once again by Danish star Alexander Stjernegaard. Rai Pinto also returns after starting all 21 matches in his Freshman campaign.
Marshall will consistently be one of the top ranked teams due to the talent they bring in. It is hard to say whether they will be as good as they have been due to the turnover of players each season, but I think it is fair to say that they will a conference title contender and the favorite to win it.
UCF
UCF starting the season on fire going unbeaten in their first 6 and beating the soon to be National Champs at Clemson. They disappointed in both the conference and national tournaments though, getting upset in the first round of both. 16 out of the 19 current players on the Knights’ roster are international.
2023 captain defender Anderson Rosa was drafted in the first round, and AJ Seals and Robbie Soronellas graduated, leaving three starting spots up for grabs.
They are returning a good chunk of guys including star striker Lucca Dourado returns to build off his 9-goal 2023. He and Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year Clarence Awoudor will be a dangerous tandem to stop.
I think UCF will have a season similar to 2023, where they are extremely dangerous and battle tested. Playing WVU, JMU, Kentucky, and Marshall in conference play makes any team battle tested, and I see them having a better run in the tournament this year.
West Virginia
WVU had one of the hottest starts out of any team in the country, going unbeaten in their first 15 games, including wins over #3 Portland and #1 Marshall. They fell to Marshall in the conference title game, but made the deepest run of any Sun Belt team in the NCAA Tournament, making it to the final 4 where they fell to Clemson.
The Mountaineers have a few large holes to fill with top scorer Yutaro Tsukada and star goalkeeper Jackson Lee leaving. There is no obvious replacement in goal, but it looks like Marc Bonnaire will start.
It seems as if Marcus Caldeira is returning for one more season with WVU, which would be absolutely massive. His 12 goals was second on the team last year. Frederik Jorgensen, Max Broughton, and Carlos Hernando are all back for another season to secure the WVU backline and Otto Ollikainen will be dominating the midfield once again.
They also added Dekel Daks from South Carolina, who was First-Team All-Sun Belt in 2023 and Simon Carlson who received the same honors with Georgia State.
Minus the lack of experience in goal, I love this West Virginia team. They are returning an entire back line and multiple goal scorers. They are my pick to win the conference and return to the College Cup.
James Madison
JMU went unbeaten in their first 6, including wins in their first three matches in 2023. Their 10-win season and run to the third round of the NCAA Tournament was a great success. They had wins over #1 UCF and #3 Georgetown in the season.
Striker Rodrigo Robles was a menace upfront for the Dukes in 2023, but he has moved on to the pros.
Evan Southern will likely assume the starting #9 position, looking to build off a strong 6-goal and 5-assist season. Midfielders Kevin Larsson and Demitri Turner will be back too. The real great news for Dukes fans is that all 4 starting defenders and their goalkeeper are back. They have an extensive amount of experienced players returning and will be a dangerous side in 2024.
I think they will finish in the top 4 and it wouldn’t surprise me if they make a deep run into tournament time.
Kentucky
UK finished with just 8 wins, after coming into the season ranked third in the country. They picked up wins over Marshall, WVU, and JMU, but struggled vs some lower level opponents.
Mason Visconti, Aboubacar Camara, and Ben Damge are all serious losses for this side.
Isaiah Chisolm had a promising first year with the Wildcats, leading the team in points. They are returning 3 young studs on the backline along with goalie Casper Mols.
I think UK will have a decent season, but I am worried about the lack of goalscorers when they face off against teams in the Sun Belt.
South Carolina
USC won 6 games last season, including 3 in difficult Sun Belt play. They have a bit of turnover with key players moving in and out of the program, so it will be interesting to see how they react.
A few attacking weapons including Ethan Dekel Daks and Jordan Illian transferred out, raising the question of who will be a threat to put the ball in the back of the net.
Adam Luckhurst, who had 6 goals last season, and Jack Burgess, who had 3, will look to be that guy.
Ted Cargil and Ethan Ballek are two ACC transfers who will also look to make an impact for the Gamecocks.
Mika Habel was strong in his first season and is someone that I think will make a giant leap this season and Jonah Biggar will look to do the same in his Sophomore year.
I think the Gamecocks will have an alright season, but struggle in this gruesome conference.
Georgia State
The Panthers played relatively well last season, but found themselves on the wrong side of quite a few close games.
Top 2 goalscorer Ethan Sassine and Simon Carlson departed for Dayton and West Virginia respectively.
Justin Mclean had a strong season in the midfield and will take over quite a bit of responsibility after the departure of some of the older guys.
Besides the two transfers, they didn’t lose much, so they should be decent in 2024. I think they will struggle a bit, specifically in Sun Belt play.
Old Dominion
ODU didn’t lose until October last season, but struggled to find any wins after that. They finished with just 2 conference wins.
Jonas Schmalbach, their leading scorer from last year, graduated, but Mandair, Armensen, and White are all back.
Old Dominion have a slew of incomers, including 7 transfers. Three defenders, two strikers, a midfielder, and a goalkeeper make up that group. They are a super accomplished roster, made up of many upperclassmen.
I am excited to see what comes from all of these new additions. If they can gel together nicely, this team has the ability to finish in the middle of the Sun Belt table.
Georgia Southern
The Eagles won just 2 games in 2023, where they had a really hard time finding the back of the net.
GA Southern lost Alex Smith to UCF and will miss out on him, but they have a lot of guys returning.
They return starting goalkeeper Nate Martinez, as well as the majority of their backline. Ty Wilson is a player to watch going forward as well.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Eagles were a bit improved this season compared to last, but they are placed into one of the most competitive leagues in the country, making it very difficult to get results in any game.
Coastal Carolina
Coastal struggled last season, winning just 3 games and only 1 in conference play. They were decent at times finishing when they got the chance, but had a really hard time keeping the ball out of their net.
Canadian striker Deryn Armstrong will lead the Chanticleers front line once again, after his 4 goals in 2023, and Doug Hainer is going to be the creator for his squad again, after 4 assists. They will also have their goalie and the leadership in their back four again in 2024.
I like Coastal to have a better season and finish outside of the bottom in the conference.
2023 Final Standings
2024 Predictions
- West Virginia
- Marshall
- James Madison
- UCF
- Kentucky
- Old Dominion
- South Carolina
- Georgia State
- Coastal Carolina
- Georgia Southern
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