2023 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament Bracket
 
NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt proved it’s a premiere conference for men’s soccer on Monday with a record five teams set to represent the league in the 2023 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament. 
 
No. 1 Marshall captured the Sun Belt’s automatic bid defeating No. 5 third-seeded West Virginia on Sunday to claim the 2023 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Tournament Championship. No. 5 West Virginia, No. 12 UCF, James Madison, and Kentucky also earned a berth in Monday’s Selection Show. 
 
For the second straight year, the Tournament’s overall one-seed will hail from the Sun Belt Conference. Marshall, which spent six weeks at No. 1 during the regular season, headlines the bracket as the overall one-seed and will earn a bye in the first round before hosting San Diego (11-4-3) or California Baptist (9-5-4) at Hoops Family Field on Sunday, Nov. 19. 
 
No. 5 West Virginia and No. 12 UCF also earned a first-round bye and the right to host on their home pitch. 
 
The Sun Belt garnered respect nationally throughout the 2023 season. A Sun Belt program was ranked No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 in seven of the poll’s 10 editions. Furthermore, three Sun Belt teams ranked in the Top 10 for eight consecutive weeks heading into postseason play. 
 
No. 1 Marshall (17-2, 7-2 SBC)
First Round: Bye
Second Round: vs. San Diego (11-4-3) or California Baptist (9-5-4)
Date/Time: Sunday, November 19 | 1 p.m. CT / 2 p.m. ET
Location: Huntington, W.Va. | Hoops Family Field
 
No. 1 Marshall completed its Sun Belt men’s soccer sweep on Sunday, posting a 3-2 victory over No. 5 West Virginia to win the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament Championship. The feat, secured in front of a record 3,151 fans at Hoops Family Field, marked the first for the Herd as a member of the Sun Belt and their second conference championship. The win also marked Marshall’s 17^th of its 2023 campaign, its most in program history. 
 
The Herd put together a monumental regular-season, spending six weeks ranked No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll along with 10-straight weeks in the poll’s top-10. Marshall, with its 17-2 record and 7-2 mark in Sun Belt play, is one of three programs to boast four or more victories against teams ranked in the Top 25 of the RPI and enters the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament with an RPI ranking of No. 1. An offensive threat with a scoring offense that ranks fourth nationally at 2.74 goals per game and a defensive powerhouse with 11 shutouts on the year, the Herd will aim to continue its momentum when they make their fifth-straight appearance in the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament. Marshall has a storied history in the tournament, most notably its 5-0 run in 2020-21 to capture the National Championship. The Herd topped the likes of Fordham, Clemson, Georgetown, and UNC enroute to hoisting the College Cup. 
 
No. 5 West Virginia (14-2-4, 5-1-3 SBC)
First Round: Bye
Second Round: vs. Louisville (11-5-3) or Dayton (8-6-6)
Date/Time: Sunday, November 19 | 1 p.m. CT / 2 p.m. ET
Location: Morgantown, W.Va. | Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium
 
No. 5 West Virginia enters the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Tournament with an impressive 14-2-4 record. The Mountaineers notched their 14^th win during the semifinals of the 2023 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Tournament, reaching the 14-win plateau for just the fourth time in program history and are just one win shy of the program record. West Virginia, which started the season receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll, has spent eight consecutive weeks in the Top-10 and has climbed as high as No. 2 twice. Sophomore forward Marcus Caldeira leads the Mountaineers’ front line with 12 goals on the year, a mark that ranks 12^th nationally, while Yutaro Tsukada follows closely behind with nine strikes of his own. West Virginia is set to make its 16^thNCAA Tournament appearance in program history and second under head coach Dan Stratford. 
 
No. 12 UCF (10-3-2, 6-2-1 SBC)
First Round: Bye
Second Round: vs. Vermont / Rider
Date/Time: Sunday, November 19 | 5 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. ET
Location: Orlando, Fla. | UCF Soccer Complex
 
In its first season in the Sun Belt, UCF enjoyed a dominant fall 2023 campaign, one that saw the program enter its season-opener unranked and finish the regular-season as the unanimous No. 1 squad in the nation. The Knights won each of their first three matches, including a season-opening 2-1 comeback win on the road at then-No. 9 Clemson, and went unbeaten through their first six contests en route to a second-place finish in the Sun Belt regular season table. UCF, which enters the postseason with a RPI ranking of 12, will make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2020-21 and its ninth in program history. 
 
 
James Madison (8-4-5, 4-2-3 SBC)
First Round: vs. Pittsburgh (6-6-4)
Date/Time: Thursday, November 16 | 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. | Ambrose Urbanic Field
 
James Madison earns an at-large bid after an impressive season on the pitch that saw the Dukes go 8-4-5 (4-2-3 SBC). James Madison closed its regular season on a high note, upsetting then-No. 1 UCF on the road, 2-1. The Dukes overall went 1-1-1 against teams that were ranked in the top three at the time of the match, also playing then-No. 3 West Virginia to a 2-2 draw. James Madison, which scored a goal in 15 of its 17 matches, was only outshot three times in 2023 and boasts a conference-best 13.88 shots per game. The Dukes are set to make their 16^th NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament appearance and first since winning the CAA Championship in 2020. 
 
Kentucky (7-7-4, 3-3-3 SBC)
First Round: vs. Xavier (9-3-6)
Date/Time: Thursday, November 16 | 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio | Corcoran Field
 
Kentucky it set to make its 14^th NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament appearance and 10^th under head coach Johan Cedergren. The Wildcats put together an impressive turnaround in the second half of the regular season, notching four straight victories before falling to No. 1 Marshall in the 2023 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Tournament semifinals. In those four wins, Kentucky knocked off a pair of Top 5 teams, then-No. 1 Marshall and then-No. 2 West Virginia. Keeper Casper Mols secured a shutout in both of those victories and boasts a conference-best .670 goals-against average in Sun Belt action. The Wildcats’ late season rise is also reflected in its RPI, which shot up from 100^th on Oct. 15 to 35 in the most recent RPI rankings. Kentucky also received two votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll released on Nov. 7.