FHSU Athletics
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Fort Hays State and Rogers State tied for the top pick in the GAC Preseason Men's Soccer Coaches Poll, released on Thursday (Aug. 14). The Tigers and Hillcats tied with 33 voting points each. FHSU was the GAC Men's Soccer Tournament Champion last year, which earned the Tigers a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in just 13 full seasons as a program.
With seven schools in the GAC, Rogers State had four of the first-place votes in the poll, while Fort Hays State received the other three. Southern Nazarene and Newman were the next two picks in the poll. All four schools made up the GAC Tournament field last year, which FHSU won.
The GAC had a tight race at the top of the regular season standings in 2024. Southern Nazarene and Rogers State tied at the top at 8-1-3 in GAC play, both with 27 points, while FHSU was one point behind with a conference record of 8-2-2. The trio at the top were the only three teams of the seven in the GAC to finish with winning records overall in 2024.
Fort Hays State finished the 2024 season with a 13-4-4 record overall. The Tigers return one All-American in midfielder Tadhg Walsh, who led NCAA Division II in assists going into to the NCAA Tournament last year with 15. That broke the single-season record for assists at FHSU, topping the old mark of 14 set by Derick Gonzalez in 2017. Walsh joins Elias Ovelar Semeniuk as returning all-region performers from last year. The pair is also among a group of four returners who earned all-conference honors last year, which includes Bastian Carlman and Jackson Elgas.
Below is the GAC Preseason Men's Soccer Poll for 2025.
1. Rogers State (4) – 33 pts
2. Fort Hays State (3) – 33 pts
3. Southern Nazarene – 26 pts
4. Newman – 22 pts
5. Northeastern State – 16 pts
6. Ouachita Baptist – 10 pts
7. Harding – 7 pts