ORLANDO – After the UCF men’s soccer team earned two top three regular-season finishes through its first two years in the league, the Knights’ peers are projecting a third.
As announced by the Sun Belt Conference Wednesday afternoon, the Black and Gold have been picked to finish third in the league’s 2025 regular-season standings in the conference’s annual preseason coaches poll.
The selection represents the third time in as many years that the Knights have garnered at least a top four selection in the preseason poll, as UCF was picked to finish fourth in the 2023 poll, and third in the 2024 poll. The Black and Gold followed with a second-place 2023 finish and a third-place finish a season ago.
UCF trails only Marshall (first place, eight first-place votes) and West Virginia (second place, two first-place votes) in this year’s preseason poll, and is followed by Kentucky (fourth place), South Carolina (fifth), James Madison (sixth), Old Dominion (seventh), Georgia Southern (eighth), Georgia State (ninth) and Coastal Carolina (10th).
The Knights earned 15 points during the 2024 regular season on the strength of a 5-4-0 record in league play, and earned a third-place finish and the Sun Belt’s No. 3 seed entering the conference tournament by way of tiebreaker, resulting from UCF’s 2-1 win over Kentucky Oct. 23 and 4-0 victory over South Carolina Nov. 1.
2025 Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll
- Marshall (8) - 97
- West Virginia (2) - 92
- UCF - 74
- Kentucky - 67
- South Carolina - 65
- James Madison - 48
- Old Dominion - 36
- Georgia Southern - 30
- Georgia State - 24
- Coastal Carolina - 17
Parenthesis indicate first-place votes
SINGLE GAME & SEASON TICKETS
Single game and season tickets for men's soccer are on sale now! Tickets can be purchased online at ucfknights.com/tickets or by calling the ticket office at (407) 823-1000.
ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida’s preeminent athletic program representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as “Orlando’s Hometown Team”. To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.