NEW ORLEANS – Familiar names dot the 2018 Sun Belt Conference men’s soccer preseason prognostications as Coastal Carolina is the favorite to capture its third-straight conference crown and six All-Sun Belt selections from a year ago are forecasted to be among the league’s top performers, as voted by the league’s five head coaches.
The preseason poll has Coastal Carolina in the top spot with four first-place votes and 24 points, followed by Georgia State (18 points) landing just ahead of Georgia Southern (17 points) for second place with the Eagles receiving the remaining first-place vote.
Headlining the preseason honors and All-Sun Belt team are Georgia State senior midfielder Hannes Burmeister as Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Coastal Carolina senior defender Kervin Fadel as Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Burmeister enters the fall coming off a productive 2017 season where he finished third in the Sun Belt in total points (18), third in total goals (8), third in goals per game (0.44), fifth in points per game (1.00) and sixth in total shots (31) and earned first-team All-Sun Belt and Sun Belt All-Tournament team honors.
Fadel returns as the defensive leader of a Coastal Carolina team only allowed 25 goals and advanced to the third round of the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship. The three-time Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week also garnered All-Sun Belt first-team honors last season.
Georgia Southern senior forward Javier Carbonell and Georgia State junior defender Kyle Clinton join Burmeister and Fadel as returning first-team All-Sun Belt picks recognized on the preseason team. Clinton was recently named one of 31 student-athletes on the 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy Men's Watch List.
The 2018 season gets underway Friday, Aug. 24 with all five teams in action. The 2018 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship is set for Nov. 7-11 at Eagle Field/Erk Park in Statesboro, Ga., hosted by Georgia Southern.
2018 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Coaches’ Preseason All-Conference Team
Juan Hernandez, Appalachian State (So., F, Winter Garden, Fla.)
Yazeed Matthews, Coastal Carolina (Sr., F, Johannesburg, South Africa)
*Javier Carbonell, Georgia Southern (Sr., F, Madrid, Spain)
Saif AlHameli, Coastal Carolina (Sr., MF, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)
*Hannes Burmeister, Georgia State (Sr., MF, Bentwisch, Germany)
**Max Hemmings, Georgia State (Sr., MF, Wokingham, England)
*Kervin Fadel, Coastal Carolina (Sr., D, San Jose, Costa Rica)
**Aldair Cortes, Georgia Southern (So., D, Cairo, Ga.)
*Kyle Clinton, Georgia State (Jr., D, Havant, England)
Jake Chasteen, Appalachian State (Sr., GK, Boone, N.C.)
Carlos Caro, Howard (Jr., GK, Silver Springs, Md.)
*Denotes 2017 All-Sun Belt First Team | **Denotes 2017 All-Sun Belt Second Team
2018 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Hannes Burmeister, Georgia State (Sr., MF, Bentwisch, Germany)
2018 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Kervin Fadel, Coastal Carolina (Sr., D, San Jose, Costa Rica)
2018 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Poll
first-place votes in parentheses
| Rank |
Team |
Points |
| 1. |
Coastal Carolina (4) |
24 |
| 2. |
Georgia State |
18 |
| 3. |
Georgia Southern (1) |
17 |
| 4. |
Appalachian State |
9 |
| 5. |
Howard |
7 |