Bellevue ranked No. 8 to begin season
The Bellevue University men’s soccer team is ranked eighth in the NAIA Preseason Coaches’ Poll to open the 2024 season.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Bellevue University men's soccer team is ranked eighth in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll to open the 2024 season.
Bruin head coach Mark Heath-Preston's returns to the helm with a career 99-50-19 (.646) record at Bellevue.
Mid-America Nazarene (Kan.) University collected all 18 first place votes and find themselves atop the preseason poll. Milligan (Tenn.) University, St. Thomas (Fla.) University), Oklahoma Wesleyan University, and Dalton State (Ga.) University round out the top five. Bellevue is one of two Continental Athletic Conference teams appearing in the poll along with Florida National University who check in at No. 21.
The 2024 schedule sees Bellevue face three other Top 25 sides. Bellevue welcomes #14 Columbia University to Papillion Landing on Wednesday, Oct. 9. BU travels to #12 Missouri Valley College (Wednesday, Oct. 16) and #4 Oklahoma Wesleyan University (Tuesday, Oct. 29).
In addition, the Bruins will also square off against a pair of teams receiving votes when they travel to Briar Cliff University (Wednesday, Aug. 28) and Concordia University (Wednesday, Sept. 4).
Bellevue posted a 14-6-4 record in 2023 while winning their fourth-straight CAC title and qualifying for a fourth-straight NAIA National Tournament. There, the Bruins reached the quarterfinals for the second time in program history (2020).
BU men's soccer has now won 14 conference tournament titles and qualified for 10 NAIA National Tournaments, advancing to the final site on six occasions.
The Bruins open regular-season play tomorrow afternoon as they host Doane University for a 3 p.m. kick-off at Papillion Landing.