GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Belmont Abbey men's soccer team is picked to finish eighth in the Conference Carolinas Preseason Poll released Wednesday by the league office. The poll was voted on by the league's head coaches and they can't vote on their own school.
The Crusaders finished the 2025 season 6-5-6 under head coach
Pat Kibler.
Defending conference tournament champion Young Harris is selected as the preseason favorite with nine first place votes followed by Francis Marion, who received three first-place votes. Chowan, North Greenville and Converse all round out the top five in the poll with each school receiving one first place vote in the preseason poll.
The 2026 Conference Carolinas Men's Soccer Championship is scheduled to start with preliminary rounds on October 28 and 31 before the semifinals and final will be competed at Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park in Browns Summit, North Carolina on November 6 and 8.
Belmont Abbey opens the regular season with a match at Catawba on Thursday, August 27 followed by its home opener against Newberry on August 29.
2026 Conference Carolinas
Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
|
School |
Points (1st Place) |
| 1 |
Young Harris |
189 (9) |
| 2 |
Francis Marion |
174 (3) |
| 3 |
Chowan |
169 (1) |
| 4 |
North Greenville |
161 (1) |
| 5 |
Converse |
146 (1) |
| 6 |
Barton |
119 |
| 7 |
Lees-McRae |
116 |
| 8 |
Belmont Abbey |
99 |
| 9 |
Mount Olive |
97 |
| 10 |
Emmanuel |
81 |
| 11 |
Ferrum |
68 |
| 12 |
King |
57 |
| 13 |
Southern Wesleyan |
56 |
| 14 |
Erskine |
27 |
| 15 |
Shorter |
16 |
2026 Conference Carolinas Men's Soccer
Players to Watch
Belmont Abbey
- Luca Pereira, Jr., M, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Sam Howe, Jr., M, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Pat Hissim, Sr., D, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
