ST. LOUIS – The Western Michigan men's soccer team was selected first in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) preseason poll of league coaches, announced on Monday by the conference office. Three players on the 2026 roster also earned spots on the Preseason All-MVC team.
The Broncos edged out the Drake Bulldogs for the top spot in the MVC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll by four points, earning all but two of the league's first place votes. With 44 overall points and five first place votes, WMU placed first in the poll, followed by Drake with 40 points, Evansville in third with 34 points, and UIC at fourth with 29 points. Both Drake and Evansville earned a first place vote along with the Brown and Gold. Belmont (25), Bowling Green (16), and Bradley (8) rounded out the preseason poll.
This is the first time as a member of the MVC that the Broncos have been picked to win the league. WMU was not picked to win the Mid-American Conference when the MAC sponsored men's soccer in its preseason poll dating back to the 2010 season.
Another first in the Valley for Western Michigan is the squad placing three players on the Preseason All-MVC Team. Defenders
Braxton Arpachinda and
Christian Shannon both earned preseason accolades along with forward
Sahel Yessen. This is Arpachinda and Yessen's first preseason selections, while Shannon repeats as a preseason All-MVC defender. The Broncos haven't had multiple players earn preseason honors since their first season in the conference when seniors Charlie Sharp and Dylan Sing were both selected at forward.
WMU earned one other preseason honor prior to Monday's preseason coaches' poll. Arpachinda was selected as a Midfielder to Watch by United Soccer Coaches on Friday, August 7. The Brown and Gold return just under 60% of its roster from their 2025 MVC Tournament-winning season. Western Michigan returns a handful of its offensive leaders from its MVC Tournament Championship season in Yessen,
Liam Smith, and
Braden Stevanovic.
The Broncos open the 2026 season on the road at RV Kentucky on Thursday, August 20 at 7:30 p.m. It will be an opening day rematch between the two teams as the Wildcats took last year's season opener in Kalamazoo 2-1. WMU returns to its home pitch on Thursday, August 27, to take on Wisconsin in the Brown and Gold's first-ever night match at the Farm. For tickets, visit WMUBroncos.com/Tickets.
