NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference on Monday announced its 2022 Preseason All-Sun Belt Team, individual awards and Preseason Coaches Poll. The honors and poll were voted upon by the league’s nine head coaches.
Kentucky senior forward Eythor Bjorgolfsson was selected as the Sun Belt Conference’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Bjorgolfsson, a senior from Jessheim, Norway, was the 2021 C-USA Tournament Offensive MVP, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to propel the Wildcats to their second C-USA tournament crown in program history. Bjorgolfsson was also named to the 2021 C-USA All-Tournament Team and recognized on the 2021 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. He appeared in 14 matches, earning seven starts, last season and finished the year with a tied for team-high five goals and one assist.
Kentucky senior defender Luis Grassow was voted the Sun Belt Conference’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Grassow, a 2021 United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American Second Team honoree, had a breakout junior season, which included 19 starts in 20 appearances on the UK backline. He contributed to all 12 shutouts and added nine points by way of three goals and three assists on the offensive end. Grassow was named to both the All-Conference USA First Team and the C-USA All-Tournament Team, earning C-USA Championship Defensive Most Valuable Player honors.
West Virginia was selected to finish as the top team in the Sun Belt, earning five first-place votes. The Mountaineers, who received their highest United Soccer Coaches Preseason ranking in program history at No. 6, went 12-3-6 last season enroute to their first NCAA quarterfinals appearance since 1981. West Virginia concluded the year ranked No. 8, its highest mark to end a year in program history.
The 2022 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament will take place November 6-13 at the campus sites of the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.
2022 SUN BELT CONFERENCE MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON AWARDS
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Eythor Bjorgolfsson, Kentucky (Sr., F - Jessheim, Norway)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Luis Grassow, Kentucky (Sr., D – Munich, Germany)
2022 Men’s Soccer Preseason All-Conference Team*
Alvaro Garcia-Pascual, Coastal Carolina (So., F – Benalmadena, Spain)
Luca Erhardt, James Madison (RS Sr., F – Offenbach, Germany)
Eythor Bjorgolfsson, Kentucky (Sr., F – Jessheim, Norway)
Milo Yosef, Marshall (RS Sr., F – Aachen, Germany)
Ross Finnie, Georgia State (Sr., M – Carnoustie, Scotland)
Rodrigo Robles, James Madison (RS Jr., M – Burgos, Spain)
Vinicius Fernandes, Marshall (Gr., M – Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Luis Grassow, Kentucky (Sr., D – Munich, Germany)
Robert Screen, Kentucky (5th Yr., D – Raleigh, N.C.)
Gabriel Alves, Marshall (Jr., D – Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Bjarne Thiesen, West Virginia (RS Jr., D – Kiel, Germany)
Oliver Semmle, Marshall (Gr., GK – Au Am Rhein, Germany)
* Team Expanded Due to Ties in Voting
2022 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
1. West Virginia - 75 (5)
2. Marshall - 72 (3)
3. Kentucky - 69 (1)
4. South Carolina - 41
T-5. Coastal Carolina - 39
T-5. James Madison - 39
7. Georgia State - 35
8. Old Dominion - 20
9. Georgia Southern - 15