JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – North Florida has been unanimously chosen as the favorites ahead of the 2026 Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) Men's Soccer season, and swept the preseason individual accolades after capturing the tournament title last season.
The Ospreys earned the top spot in the coaches poll after capturing the 2025 ASUN Gold Division Championship along with the tournament title. UNF posted a 12-5-2 overall record and a 4-2 conference record. 2026 Preseason Player of the Year, Anton Khelil helped lead the NCAA Tournament last season. The France native, became the first Osprey in program history to be named Player of the Year last season after he totaled 1,536 minutes, three assists and three goals, all of which came against conference opponents.
UNF senior, Paul Schacherer was named Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He totaled 1,645 minutes for North Florida last season and helped lead the team to a single-season program record of nine shutouts. His presence on the backline allowed for 2025 Goalkeeper of the Year, Luciano Natoli to record a .759 save percentage last season.
Natoli earned the Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year accolade. The Miami Beach, Fla., native started 18 matches on goal and was recently one of eight goalkeepers in the nation to be named to the 2026 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Positional Players to Watch List. He notched an 11-5-2 record and a 5-2-1 ASUN record that saw 60 saves. Natoli's 11 wins ranked first in Division I single-season program history and tied for second in all-time program history.
The Stetson Hatters earned the number two spot in the coaches poll. Last season, the Hatters posted a 6-8-3 overall record, earning wins over conference opponents FGCU and North Florida. Stetson defeated Central Arkansas in the tournament quarterfinals before facing UNF in the semifinals where the Hatters took the Ospreys to five rounds of penalty kicks before falling 4-3.
FGCU was chosen third in this years coaches poll after recording a 6-7-3 overall record and a 2-3-1 conference record. The Eagles earned wins against conference opponents North Florida and Stetson and tied with then-ranked No. 18 Gardner-Webb.
Last years runner-up, Bellarmine was chosen fourth in this years coaches poll. The Knights posted a 3-1-2 conference record and a 6-0-1 record at home in 2025. The Kights defeated Jacksonville in the semifinals last season on pentaly kicks before advancing to the championship final where they fell to the Ospreys in overtime.
2026 Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
1. North Florida (8) 79
2. Stetson (1) 59
3. FGCU 51
4. Bellarmine 50
5. Lipscomb 47
6. Jacksonville 44
7. Central Arkansas 39
8. Queens 21
9. West Florida 15
First-place votes in parentheses
2026 Men's Soccer Preseason All-ASUN Team
F - Johan Nissen-Lie, Bellarmine
F - Zsombor Pall, Stetson
F - Geraldo Neto, North Florida
F - Maxim Sheenkov, Central Arkansas
F - Kaiss Mansouri, North Florida
MF - Anton Khelil, North Florida
MF - Tyler Prebenda, North Florida
MF - Benjamin Donato, Stetson
D - Paul Schacherer, North Florida
D - Rafa Rios, North Florida
D - Iver Skorve, Jacksonville
GK - Luciano Natoli, North Florida ^
* a tie in voting resulted in a 12-person Preseason All-ASUN Team
^ denotes a unanimous selection