KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan men's soccer team is set to open the 2025 season against Kentucky on Thursday evening. The game is set for 5:30 PM at the WMU Soccer Complex.
PRESEASON RECOGNITION
Coming off of a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, Western Michigan will begin the year ranked No. 20 in the nation.
Along with that, the Broncos were picked third in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll, which was released earlier this week. The Brown and Gold garnered two first-place votes. Just five points separated the first and third teams in the rankings. Drake led the way with 56 points, while Bowling Green (54) and WMU (51) rounded out the top three.
SUPER SHANNON
After an incredible freshman season, defender
Christian Shannon is back in the Brown and Gold for a sophomore campaign. The awards have rolled in for him, including Preseason All-MVC honors earlier this week.
Shannon started 20 games last season, scoring nine points on three goals and three assists. He is the team's second leading returning scorer.
NEW TO KALAMAZOO
The Broncos graduated a bunch of top talent, which forced coach
Chad Wiseman to hit the transfer portal. The Broncos added 10 transfers and two freshmen to the mix for the 2025 campaign.
Timi Adams,
Mathieu Beuvain,
Liam Biggers,
Henrik Boer,
Adrian Jogerst,
Anthony Piacentini,
Juan Romero,
Piero Sabroso,
Giuseppe Santacroce,
Braden Stevanovic,
Jonathan Stout and
Sahel Yessen make up the new group.
Of those newcomers, Stout will play a big role on offense. Transferring from Michigan State, he has 32 points on 13 goals and six assists in his career. He started 39 matches for the Green and White over three years.
In net, Adams will be in the mix after transferring from Virginia Tech. He made 13 starts and collected one shutout for the Hokies in 2023.
MAKING HISTORY
The Broncos have proven to be a national force over the last few seasons, ending the last three years with a top-20 national ranking. The Brown and Gold were 20th in 2024, sixth in 2023 and 14th in 2022.
WMU has made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, which is the longest streak in program history. The Broncos have made the Sweet 16 in two of those three tournaments.
In terms of home openers, Western Michigan has been unbeatable over the last decade. The Brown and Gold own a 9-0-1 record in home openers over the last 10 seasons.
