CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On Wednedsay afternoon the Atlantic Coast Conference released the 2026 Preseason Men's Soccer Coaches Poll and the 2026 Preseason Watch List. The Irish finished eighth in the poll with senior captain Nolan Spicer landing on the watch list.
Spicer was a 2025 All-ACC Third Team honoree as the midfielder led the Irish in assists with seven (career high) and was tied for seventh in the ACC in total assists in his junior season. He was also second on the team in points (11) off two goals and seven assists.
The Irish will play at Alumni Stadium this Friday and Saturday for a pair of exhibitions. Notre Dame will take on Michigan State at 7:30 PM on Friday and Butler at 7:30 PM on Saturday. The Irish officially open their season on the road at No. 22 Indiana on Thursday, August 20.
2026 ACC Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
1. NC State (8), 183
2. Stanford (2), 171
3. Virginia (4), 161
4. SMU, 146
5. Clemson (1), 145
6. North Carolina, 134
7. Duke, 124
8. Notre Dame, 100
9. Wake Forest, 89
10. Syracuse, 86
11. Pitt, 83
12. Virginia Tech, 60
13. California, 48
14. Louisville, 29
15. Boston College, 16
First-place votes in parentheses
2026 ACC Men’s Soccer Preseason Watch List
Andrej Borak, So., GK, Boston College
Florentino Junior, Fr., M, California
Ransford Gyan, Jr., M, Clemson
Ulfur Bjornsson, Sr., F, Duke
Ryan Quintos, Sr., D, Louisville
Joschi Schelb, Sr., F, North Carolina
Tyler Caton, Sr., M, NC State
Nolan Spicer, Sr., M, Notre Dame
Niklas Sørensen, Jr., D, Pitt
Stephan Soghomonian, Jr., F, SMU
Dylan Groeneveld, Sr., D, Stanford
Kelvin Da Costa, Jr., M, Syracuse
Sebastian Pop, Sr., D, Virginia
Yanis Belatrache, Sr., M, Virginia Tech
Jeffrey White, Sr., M, Wake Forest