ATLANTA, Ga. (August 31, 2026) – Covenant was selected first in the 2026 Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) Men's Soccer Preseason Poll, earning 25 points and five first-place votes, selected by the league's six head coaches. The Scots have been picked atop the preseason poll for the fifth consecutive season.
Covenant enters the 2026 season after posting an 8-5-5 overall record and a 5-1 conference mark in 2025. The Scots advanced to the CCS Championship match after defeating Piedmont in the semifinals via penalty kicks before ultimately falling to Maryville in the title match following another shootout. The Scots return several key contributors from last season, including junior All-Conference selections Jonathan Welsh and Henry Parker. They will be joined by senior All-Conference performers Jackson Bostrom and Noah Jones also returning for the upcoming season.
Belhaven was selected second in the preseason poll with 21 points and one first-place vote. The Blazers finished 10-6-4 overall in 2025 and posted a 2-2-2 conference record. Belhaven reached the CCS semifinals for the second consecutive season and returns a strong core of experienced players. Junior defender Ciaran Colvin, a two-time CCS First Team selection, headlines the returning group alongside seniors Courtland Williams and Caleb Drake.
Piedmont earned 17 points to place third in the preseason rankings. The Lions finished the 2025 campaign with a 7-8-2 overall record and a 2-3-1 mark in league play. The Lions advanced to the CCS semifinals, where they pushed top-seeded Covenant to a penalty shootout before narrowly falling. Piedmont welcomes back senior forward/midfielder Davis Knight, an all-Conference honoree from a season ago.
LaGrange was picked fourth in the poll with 12 points after compiling a 5-4-8 overall record in 2025. The Panthers qualified for the CCS Championship Tournament and concluded their season in the quarterfinal round. Senior defender Dylan DePriest, an All-Conference selection, returns to lead LaGrange into the 2026 campaign.
Rounding out the poll were Huntingdon (9 points) and Asbury (6), each entering the new season looking to continue their development and compete for a spot in the CCS Championship Tournament.
The 2026 season officially begins on Tuesday, Sept. 1, with all six CCS men's soccer programs opening their schedules in non-conference action. Conference play begins later in September.
The CCS Men's Soccer Championship Tournament is scheduled to begin on Saturday, Oct. 31, and conclude with the championship match on Saturday, Nov. 7. Quarterfinal contests will be hosted by the higher-seeded teams, while the semifinal and championship rounds will be held at the Loretta P. Spencer Sports Complex in Huntsville, Alabama.
2026 CCS MEN’S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
| Ranking |
School |
Points |
| 1 |
Covenant College |
25 points (5) |
| 2 |
Belhaven University |
21 points (1) |
| 3 |
Piedmont University |
17 points |
| 4 |
LaGrange College |
12 points |
| 5 |
Huntingdon College |
9 points |
| 6 |
Asbury University |
6 points |
First-place votes in parenthesis.
ABOUT THE COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE OF THE SOUTH (CCS)
The CCS is an NCAA Division III athletic conference that began play during the 2022-23 academic year. The conference features seven member institutions (Agnes Scott College, Asbury University, Belhaven University, Covenant College, Huntingdon College, LaGrange College, and Piedmont University) and sponsors championships across 16 sports. In addition to sharing the member institutions' geographic identity, the name 'Collegiate Conference of the South' is indicative of a shared commitment to academic excellence, which is commensurate with the NCAA Division III philosophy.
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