BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll and All-Conference Awards for 2024
NEW YORK – Akron and Georgetown earned the top spots in their respective divisions, as the BIG EAST Conference announced the Preseason Coaches’ Poll and all-conference awards. Akron was selected by the league’s men’s soccer coaches to finish as the top team in the Midwest Division, while No. 16 Georgetown was unanimously selected to win the East Division.
Butler’s Palmer Ault was voted BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, while Georgetown’s Maximus Jennings garnered the preseason Defensive Player of the Year award and Providence’s Lukas Burns earned the preseason accolade of Goalkeeper of the Year.
Georgetown, the 2023 BIG EAST championship runner-up and East Division champion, topped the East Division preseason poll with 66 points and all 11 possible first-place votes. Providence followed suit with 55 points and the remaining first-place vote. In the Midwest Division, after joining the BIG EAST as an expansion team in 2023, Akron leads the way with 62 points and seven first-place votes. Receiving four-first place votes, the defending BIG EAST Tournament Champion and 2023 Midwest Division champion Xavier ranked second with 56 points, while Creighton received 50 points and the final first-place vote.
Projected to finish third in the East Division, St. John’s received 42 points, while Connecticut ranks fourth with 38 points.
Rounding out the East Division, Seton Hall ranks fifth with 28 points, while Villanova tallied 17 points.
Following Akron, Xavier and Creighton, Butler checks in at fourth in the Midwest Division with 35 points. Rounding out the rankings, Marquette has been picked fifth with 25 points, while DePaul ranks sixth with 18 points.
A member of the 2023 All-BIG EAST Second Team and the unanimous BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2022, Ault will once again look to lead the Bulldogs offensive attack in 2024. Entering his junior campaign, Ault has started all 34 games in his first two collegiate seasons and has tallied 38 points with 16 goals and six assists. The native of Noblesville, Ind., has elapsed 2,829 minutes on the pitch and has tallied six game-winning goals.
Drafted by Real Salt Lake with the 18th pick in the third round of the 2024 MLS Draft, Jennings returns for his senior campaign on the Hilltop ready to anchor the Georgetown backline. In 2024, Jennings was part of a backline that posted eight shutouts. On the offensive end of the pitch, he tallied five goals and an assist in 19 starts.
A stalwart in net for the Friars since making his debut against Franklin Pierce on April 9, 2021, Burns returns for his graduate season looking to lead Providence back to the NCAA Tournament. A member of the 2023 All-BIG EAST Second Team, Burns enters his fifth season with 50 games played, along with 16 career shutouts and 143 saves. With a 1.17 goals against average, Burns holds a 20-12-12 overall record, with over 4,500 minutes played in net for the Friars.
A total of 11 student-athletes were named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, including Ault, Jennings and Burns. Georgetown leads the way with three individuals on the list, followed by Akron and Providence with two each. Georgetown’s Marlon Tabora was unanimously voted to the team.
All-BIG EAST honors and preseason polls were decided by a vote of the league’s head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own team or players. The 2024 season gets underway on Thursday, Aug. 22. Conference action begins Friday, Sept. 20.
BIG EAST Preseason Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Poll
East Division
(first-place votes)
1. Georgetown (11) 66
2. Providence (1) 55
3. St. John’s 42
4. Connecticut 38
5. Seton Hall 28
6. Villanova 17
Midwest Division
(first-place votes)
1. Akron (7) 62
2. Xavier (4) 56
3. Creighton (1) 50
4. Butler 35
5. Marquette 25
6. DePaul 18
Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Palmer Ault, Jr., F, Butler
Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Maximus Jennings, Sr., D, Georgetown
Preseason BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Lukas Burns, Gr., GK, Providence
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Jonas Buechte, Sr., D, Akron
Malik Henry, Sr., D, Akron
Palmer Ault, Jr., F, Butler
Scott Testori, Sr., F, UConn
Jackson Castro, Sr., M, Creighton
Maximus Jennings, Sr., D, Georgetown
Marlon Tabora, Gr., F, Georgetown *
Zach Zengue, Jr., M, Georgetown
Diego Batista, Jr., M, Providence
Lukas Burns, Gr., GK, Providence
Macoumba Ba, Sr., F, St. John’s
Dylan Kropp, Jr., D, Xavier
*unanimous selection
