OXFORD, Ohio -- WVU Tech, who went 6-2 in conference play last season, was picked second in the 2025 River States Conference (RSC) Preseason Coaches' Poll and the University of Rio Grande was selected to repeat as conference champions. The poll, announced Wednesday by the RSC office, saw each of the conference's ten head coaches rank the other member schools in order of predicted finish.
The Golden Bears, who earned one first place vote, got to the conference title match last season, thanks to a win over Oakland City in penalty kicks. The Mighty Oaks are close behind the Golden Bears in third, with Shawnee State and Midway rounding out the top five.
The bottom half of the poll sees Saint Mary-of-the-Woods place sixth, Indiana University East at seventh, Brescia eighth, Indiana University Columbus ninth, and RSC newcomer Kentucky Christian rounding out the conference at tenth.
The action begins for the Golden Bears August 23 with a home matchup against Milligan University at 7 p.m. Conference play begins on Saturday, September 27, with Midway coming to Beckley, W.Va. for a 3 p.m. kickoff.
2025 RSC PRESEASON MEN's SOCCER COACHES' POLL
1. Rio Grande (81 points, 9 first place votes)
2. WVU Tech (70 points, 1 first place vote)
3. Oakland City (67 points)
4. Shawnee State (57 points)
5. Midway (41 points)
6. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (40 points)
7. IU East (32 points)
8. Brescia (27 points)
9. IU Columbus (26 points)
10. Kentucky Christian (9 points)
