NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Committee announces Top 16 ranking

INDIANAPOLIS — With three weeks remaining before selection Monday, the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Committee announced its top 16 ranking. The top 16 correspond to the number of teams that are seeded in the 48-team NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship bracket.

Using results through games of October 19, Marshall is the top team at this point of the season. The 2020 national champions lead the country in wins (12), winning percentage (.923), scoring offense (3.08 goals per game) and goal differential (+30).

The rest of the top four is set with the Central Florida, Notre Dame and SMU.

The top four seeds are important, as if the seeds hold those four teams would have the opportunity to host quarterfinal matches with a bid to the Men’s College Cup on the line.

“The top teams have executed really well on their schedules at this point in the season,” said Tanya Vogel, chair of the committee and director of athletics at George Washington. “Developing a top 16 ranking was incredibly difficult as the next group of teams are also having impressive seasons and will be in the conversation for top seeds based on how things shake out as we enter selections.”

The remainder of the top eight includes West Virginia, Georgetown, Wake Forest and Florida International University.

Rounding out the rest of the ranking were Clemson, Duke, Vermont, New Hampshire, Portland, Loyola Marymount, Virginia and Akron.

“As we saw this week and have seen all season, the parity in men’s college soccer means anything can happen in any given matchup,” Vogel said. “We’re excited to continue to watch and see how the regular season and conference tournaments play out because so much can still happen to impact the final bracket in November.”

The ranking is based on the criteria used to select and seed the 48 teams for the Division I Men’s Soccer Championship and in no particular order includes strength of schedule, Rating Percentage Index, head-to-head competition, results versus common opponents, strength and results against non-conference opponents, late season performance in the last eight games and strength and results against conference opponents.

The 2023 championship field will consist of 23 automatic conference qualifiers and 25 at-large selections, which will be revealed on Monday, November 13 on ncaa.com. The top 16 teams will be seeded and receive first round byes before hosting second round games.

The tournament opens on Thursday, November 16 as the championship will take place at campus sites through the quarterfinals as teams look to earn a trip to the Men’s College Cup.

The Men’s College Cup comes to Kentucky for the first time ever when teams and fans will descend upon Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, with semifinals on Friday, Dec. 8, on ESPNU (6 p.m./8:30 p.m. ET), followed by the national championship game on Monday, Dec. 11 on ESPNU at 6 p.m. ET.

NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Committee Top 16 Ranking

(record through games of October 19)

1. Marshall (12-1-0)
2. UCF (8-1-2)
3. Notre Dame (10-1-3)
4. SMU (9-1-2)
5. West Virginia (10-0-4)
6. Georgetown (9-2-1)
7. Wake Forest (11-1-3)
8. FIU (8-2-3)
9. Clemson (8-3-2)
10. Duke (8-3-1)
11. Vermont (10-2-2)
12. New Hampshire (8-1-4)
13. Portland (8-3-0)
14. LMU (CA) (6-1-5)
15. Virginia (7-3-3)
16. Akron (9-1-5)