DENVER – With regular season play kicking off next week, the San José State men's soccer team has been selected to finish sixth in the Western Athletic Conference's preseason poll of the league's coaches. Fresh off an appearance in WAC title match for a second consecutive season, the Spartans were one of just five sides to receive a first-place vote in the poll.
In addition, midfielder Max Allen was named to the 11-man Preseason All-WAC team that was also announced Wednesday.
"This is a squad that wants to attack with a huge desire to control the ball in all phases of the game," says head coach Simon Tobin. "We have advanced to the WAC championship game in each of the past two years and we truly believe that the third attempt will bring home the trophy."
Seattle U was picked as the preseason favorite, garnering five of the 12 first-place votes while UTRGV is slotted just behind in second. The top-three is rounded out by the conference's defending regular season and tournament champions as both Air Force and Grand Canyon tied with 88 points.
UNLV was selected fifth, followed by SJSU, Utah Valley, California Baptist, CSU Bakersfield, Houston Baptist, Kansas City and Incarnate Word.
UTRGV forward Kyle Edwards and Grand Canyon goalkeeper George Tasouris were selected as the WAC Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively.
San José State kicks off exhibition play on Saturday at California and will get the regular season underway on Friday, Aug. 30 against Sacramento State at the Spartan Soccer Complex. Individual game tickets to men's soccer matches are on sale now via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone at (800) 745-3000 or online at Ticketmaster.com.
2019 Preseason Men's Soccer Coaches Poll
| Rank | Team (1st Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. | Seattle U (5) | 112 |
| 2. | UTRGV (2) | 104 |
| T3. | Air Force (3) | 88 |
| T3. | Grand Canyon (1) | 88 |
| 5. | UNLV | 87 |
| 6. | San José State (1) | 77 |
| 7. | Utah Valley | 75 |
| 8. | California Baptist | 49 |
| 9. | CSU Bakersfield | 37 |
| T10. | Houston Baptist | 27 |
| T10. | Kansas City | 27 |
| 12. | Incarnate Word | 20 |