Richardson, TX - Four-time defending Lone Star Conference tournament champion Midwestern State is predicted to win the LSC men's soccer regular season title according to the 2025 preseason poll, it was announced on Tuesday (Aug. 26). St. Edward's Arthur Souza and St. Mary's teammates Luke Mulkey and Johny Thurbin claimed preseason player of the year honors.

The preseason poll and preseason players of the year are voted on by LSC head coaches, sports information directors and media members.

MSU totaled 338 points and collected 16 of the possible 33 first-place votes. Head coach Michael Meachum's Mustangs went 15-3-3 overall and 7-2-1 in league play last season. MSU reached the national quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship and finished the year ranked in the top 10 in the nation. MSU has won a record 11 LSC regular season titles (the most recent coming in 2023) and five conference tourney crowns (also 2019).

Defending LSC champion St. Mary's is picked as the conference runner-up with 331 points and 13 first-place votes. The Rattlers went 12-4-4 overall and 8-1-1 in league play last season en route to their third league title over the past six seasons (also 2019 and 2022). StMU reached the LSC tournament title match.

St. Edward's is predicted to finish in third place with 297 points and landed three first-place votes. The Hilltoppers went 8-6-4 overall and 5-2-3 in league play last season after being predicted to finish 10th in the conference. 

DBU is the fourth-place pick with 241 points. Five-time LSC champion West Texas A&M is selected for a fifth-place finish with 239 points, followed by Lubbock Christian (169 points) to round out what would be the potential six teams to qualify for the LSC tournament.

UT Tyler is picked to finish in seventh place with 161 points, followed by Oklahoma Christian (134 points), new league member UT Dallas (104 points), Texas A&M International (86 points) and Sul Ross State (78 points). TAMIU picked up the final first-place vote.

29 players – 11 offensive, 11 defensive and seven goalkeepers, including Souza, Mulkey and Thurbin – were selected for the LSC Men's Soccer Preseason Players to Watch list. The student athletes were nominated by their member institution.

Notes:

• The LSC men's soccer season begins as early as Sept. 4. To see the league schedule, click here. 
• The LSC men's soccer tournament is scheduled for Nov. 8 (quarterfinals), Nov. 12 (semifinals) and Nov. 15 (final). The quarterfinals will be held on campus of the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds; the semifinals are hosted by the No. 1 and No. 2 seed; and title match will be hosted by the highest remaining seed. 
• LSC soccer matches can be viewed live on FloCollege.

 
2025 LSC MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL, AWARDS, PLAYERS TO WATCH

Preseason Poll

Rank	School	1st	Total
1	Midwestern State	16	338
2	St. Mary's	13	331
3	St. Edward's	3	297
4	DBU		241
5	West Texas A&M		239
6	Lubbock Christian		169
7	UT Tyler		161
8	Oklahoma Christian		134
9	UT Dallas		104
10	Texas A&M International	1	86
11	Sul Ross State		78

 
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Arthur Souza, F, Gr., St. Edward's
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Luke Mulkey, D, Sr., St. Mary's
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Johnny Thurbin, GK, Sr., St. Mary's

Players to Watch
 
Offensive:

Name	Team	Pos.	Class	Major	Hometown
Gavyn Rosales	DBU	F	Sr.	Business	Prosper, Texas
Manuel Nunez	LCU	MF	Sr.	Business	Murcia, Spain
Liam Pritchard	MSU	F	Sr.	Exercise Physiology	Hartlepool, England
Ethan Nakolo	OC	F	So.	Psychology	Yukon, Okla.
Arthur Souza	SEU	F	Gr.	MBA	Houston, Texas
Gael Gallegos	StMU	F	Jr.	Management	Laredo, Texas
Lewis Coates	Sul Ross State	MF	Sr.	Kinesiology	Harrogate, England
Byron Aguilar	TAMIU	F	Sr.	Business Admin.	Dallas, Texas
Evan Pustejovsky	UTD	MF	Jr.	Business Admin.	Allen, Texas
Oscar Sosa	UTT	MF	Sr.	Kinesiology	El Paso, Texas
D'Jonte Davis	West Texas A&M	F	Jr.	Business Admin.	Prosper, Texas

Defensive:

Name	Team	Pos.	Class	Major	Hometown
Evan Lupo	DBU	D	Sr.	Economics	Frisco, Texas
Geoffroy Letienne	LCU	D	Sr.	Business	Auxerre, France
Skylar Krchnak	MSU	D	So.	Computer Science	Pearland, Texas
Renato Disha	OC	D	Jr.	Finance	Peshkopi, Albania
Irvin Abarda	SEU	D	Sr.	Business Admin.	Del Valle, Texas
Luke Mulkey	StMU	D	Sr.	Management	Parker, Texas
Mario Hurtado	Sul Ross State	MF	Sr.	Kinesiology	La Paz, Mexico
Chris Fuentes	TAMIU	MF	Sr.	Accounting	Dallas, Texas
Callum Thompson	UTD	D	Fr.	Business Admin.	Maumelle, Ark.
William Kenne	UTT	D	Sr.	Management	Stockholm, Sweden
Arthur Marci	West Texas A&M	D	Sr.	Business	Sao Paolo, Brazil

 

Goalkeepers:

Name	Team	Class	Major	Hometown
Connor Pettigrew	LCU	Gr.	Accounting	Frisco, Texas
Nick Hardiman	OC	So.	Accounting	Gold Coast, Australia
Angel Ramirez	SEU	Jr.	Business Admin.	Hutto, Texas
Johnny Thurbin	StMU	Sr.	Finance & Risk Mgt.	Surrey, England
Benjamin Aviles	Sul Ross State	So.	Business Admin.	Vina del Mar. Chile
Ioannis Koupepides	TAMIU	So.	Kinesiology	Nicosia, Cyprus
Luke Southerington	West Texas A&M	Jr.	Special Education	Oldham, England