Big Ten Women’s Soccer 2023 Preseason Rankings and Players to Watch

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Penn State (#8 in SoccerWire’s Best 50 Programs List) has been selected as the favorite to win the 2023 Big Ten Conference women’s soccer championship, according to the annual preseason poll of the conference’s 14 head coaches.

The defending Big Ten Tournament Champion Nittany Lions, who have their ninth tournament title and advanced to the third round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, have been chosen first in every Big Ten preseason coaches’ poll since 2003.

Northwestern, who finished second in the Big Ten standings in 2022 and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament finished second, while Rutgers was voted third, after making its 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance a season ago.

Michigan State and Wisconsin completed the top five. The Spartans claimed their first Big Ten soccer title in school history in 2022, while Wisconsin finished third in the league table last season.

Three Big ten teams will enter the 2023 season ranked or receiving votes in the preseason United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll, led by No. 10 Penn State, No. 17 Michigan State, and No. 18 Northwestern. Rutgers and Nebraska also received votes in the preseason poll.

(Best College Soccer Teams: Top 50 Current NCAA Women’s Programs)

Also on Tuesday, the conference unveiled the 2023 Big Ten Players to Watch List, as selected by the conference coaches. Ten of the student-athletes on the 2023 Big Ten Players to Watch List are returning all-conference selections, including two of last season’s individual award recipients — Wisconsin’s Emma Jaskaniec (Big Ten Midfielder of the Year) and Northwestern’s Caterina Regazzoni (Big Ten Freshman of the Year).

The 2023 campaign will kick off on Thursday, with all 14 teams in action. Among the fixtures on the opening night slate, No. 10 Penn State will face an early test, as it welcomes No. 2 North Carolina to Happy Valley (7 p.m. on BTN). Purdue and Michigan will also meet ranked foes, as the Wolverines travel west to face No. 22 USC (6 p.m. on PAC-12 Network), while Purdue hosts No. 24 Central Florida (8 p.m. on B1G+).

The 2023 Big Ten women’s soccer composite schedule can be found online at bigten.org, while the complete 2023 Big Ten Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll and Players to Watch List is as follows:

2023 BIG TEN WOMEN’S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
1. Penn State
2.   Northwestern
3.   Rutgers
4.   Michigan State
5.   Wisconsin
6.   Nebraska
7.   Ohio State
8.   Michigan
9.   Minnesota
10.   Iowa
11.   Maryland
12.   Purdue
T13.   Illinois
T13.   Indiana

2023 BIG TEN WOMEN’S SOCCER PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST