MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Two-time defending champion Edgewood University has been named the favorite to capture the 2026 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) men's soccer title according to the league's preseason poll, which was released Wednesday.
The Eagles, who posted a 12-0-0 mark in league play last year to capture the program's second-consecutive NACC title, secured the top spot in the poll with 329 points and 19 of 26 first-place votes from the league's head coaches and athletics communications professionals. The Eagles take a 19-game winning streak and a 23-game unbeaten streak in regular-season NACC contests into the 2026 season. Milwaukee School of Engineering was second with 302 points and four first-place votes, while Aurora University (289) took third and Dominican University (250) edged St. Norbert College (248) for fourth place. The Spartans (two) and Stars (one) were awarded the final three first-place votes.
Illinois Institute of Technology (200), Benedictine University (174), and Concordia University Wisconsin (161) sit sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively, to round out the presumptive 2026 NACC Tournament field. Marian University edged Wisconsin Lutheran College, 118-115, for ninth place, while Lakeland University (71), Rockford University (64), and Concordia University Chicago (45) round out this year's poll.
2025 Recap: Edgewood finished 12-0-0 in league play to top the table with 36 points, five points clear of the field, to win the program's second-straight NACC title. The Eagles were knocked out of the NACC Tournament with a 2-0 loss to No. 4-seed MSOE in the semifinal round. The Raiders faced No. 2-seed Aurora in the final for the second consecutive year, emerging with a 1-0 victory for the program's fifth NACC Tournament title.
Edgewood and MSOE both represented the NACC in the 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship. MSOE, the NACC's automatic qualifier, fell to UW-Eau Claire, 3-1, in the first round. Edgewood received an at-large berth, defeating Gustavus Adolphus College, 3-0, in their opener before falling to Augsburg University by a 1-0 score.
Edgewood scored the lion's share of the major awards as juniors Cristian Torres-Gale and Ben Brody were named NACC Midfielder of the Year and NACC Defender of the Year, respectively, and senior Maverick Van Laanen was named NACC Goalkeeper of the Year. Additionally, the Tim Bruner-led Edgewood staff was recognized by the league's coaches as the NACC Coaching Staff of the Year, Aurora senior Branden Dolezal was named NACC Forward of the Year, and Illinois Tech forward Mateo Secaira was recognized as the league's Freshman of the Year.
A total of 14 players were named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region Team, with Brody being named to the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III Men's All-America First Team.
New Coaches: There will be a trio of new head coaches in the NACC this season.
At Wisconsin Lutheran, a new face will be leading the program for the first time in over a quarter of a century as Steve Bode takes over for Joe Luedke, who stepped down after 26 seasons at the helm. Bode spent the last four seasons as head coach at Loyola University Chicago, leading the Ramblers to a 26-18-21 mark and an appearance in the 2022 Atlantic 10 Championship match. Prior to his time as head coach at Loyola, he had stints as an assistant with both the men's and women's programs at Marquette, and the men's programs at Loyola and Brown. Additionally, he served as the head coach for the Chicago FC United in the United Soccer Leagues, where he led the team to a Central Conference championship and a top-four finish in the league.
Graham Brennan takes the reins at Concordia Chicago, joining the Cougars after six seasons on the men's staff at Loyola Chicago, the last four as associate head coach under Steve Bode. Prior to Loyola, Brennan compiled an 84-60-11 record as head men's coach at Roosevelt from 2012-2019. He also spent time as an assistant at Robert Morris University Illinois and served in leadership roles with Chicago Fire Premier, leading the Fire's National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) to a national championship in 2010.
Dylan Milkent steps in at Illinois Tech after spending last year as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the men's and women's programs at Loras College, his alma mater. Prior to Loras, he spent six years as the top men's assistant at Wheaton College, helping lead the Thunder to the 2024 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship. As a goalkeeper at Loras, he helped lead the Duhawks to back-to-back national semifinal appearances in 2012 and 2013.
2026 Schedule: The 2026 NACC schedule gets underway Tuesday, Sept. 1 with 11 nonconference games as all but Concordia Chicago and Rockford take to the pitch. The Cougars and Regents both open up the following day as Concordia Chicago hosts Eureka and Rockford entertains Lawrence.
The league slate begins with a six NACC fixtures on Wednesday, Sept. 16 as Rockford travels to Concordia Chicago, St. Norbert hosting Marian, Aurora traveling to Illinois Tech, Lakeland venturing to Edgewood, and Dominican welcoming MSOE. Wisconsin Lutheran drew the opening bye in the NACC schedule and will host Concordia Wisconsin for its league opener on Saturday, Sept. 19.
The regular season concludes with six NACC matches on Wednesday, Oct. 28.
NACC Tournament: The top eight teams in the final regular-season standings will qualify for the NACC's postseason tournament. First-round games are slated for Sunday, Nov. 1, followed by semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and the tournament final on Saturday, Nov. 7. The tournament champion receives the NACC's automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.
2026 NACC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
| Institution |
Points |
| Edgewood (19) |
329 |
| MSOE (4) |
302 |
| Aurora (2) |
289 |
| Dominican (1) |
250 |
| St. Norbert |
248 |
| Illinois Tech |
200 |
| Benedictine |
174 |
| Concordia Wisconsin |
161 |
| Marian |
118 |
| Wisconsin Lutheran |
115 |
| Lakeland |
71 |
| Rockford |
64 |
| Concordia Chicago |
45 |
Note: First-place votes in parentheses.