# 2019 Western Athletic Conference men's soccer season

The 2019 Western Athletic Conference men's soccer season will be the 37th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The regular season will begin on August 30, 2019 and conclude on November 2, 2019.
The regular season will culminate with the 2019 WAC Men's Soccer Tournament, which will begin on November 8 and conclude on November 16, 2019.

## Background

The 2018 season began in August 2018 and concluded in November 2018. The regular season champions, Air Force, enjoyed their best regular season ever, and their best NCAA Tournament berth since 1993. Air Force finished the season ranked 12th in the nation, and achieved a 17–5–0 record. In the 2018 WAC Men's Soccer Tournament, Air Force were eliminated by eventual tournament champions, Grand Canyon. Both teams earned berths into the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, being the two WAC representatives in the tournament.
In the NCAA Tournament, Grand Canyon was eliminated on penalty kicks by UC Irvine in the first round. Air Force defeated Central Arkansas, 4–0 in the first round. In the second round, they played against in-state rivals, Denver, where they won 2–1. In the Sweet Sixteen, Air Force traveled out east to take on Indiana, where they lost 2–0. Indiana would end being the national runners-up.
At the end of the season, Air Force's Tucker Bone was named an Consensus All-American by earned first-team All-American honors by College Soccer News, Top Drawer Soccer, Soccer America, and United Soccer Coaches. Bone was the highest drafted WAC player selected in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft, being drafted in the first round, twentieth overall by Seattle Sounders FC. Three other WAC players were drafted in the 2019 SuperDraft: Camden Riley (Sporting Kansas City), Nathan Aune (San Jose Earthquakes), and Mitch Osmond (Minnesota United FC).

## Teams

A total of 12 teams are due to take part in the conference this season.
On July 1, 2019, the University of Missouri–Kansas City announced that its athletic program, previously known as the UMKC Kangaroos, would be rebranded as the Kansas City Roos, with "Roos" having long been used as a short form of the historic "Kangaroos" nickname.
The 2019 season will be the last for both CSU Bakersfield and Kansas City as WAC members. On July 1, 2020, CSU Bakersfield will join the Big West Conference and Kansas City will return to the Summit League after a seven-year absence.

### Stadiums and locations

| College | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| Air Force Falcons | Colorado Springs, Colorado | Cadet Soccer Stadium | 1,000 |
| Cal Baptist Lancers | Riverside, California | California Bapitst Soccer Field | 250 |
| CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners | Bakersfield, California | CSUB Main Soccer Field | 2,500 |
| Grand Canyon Antelopes | Phoenix, Arizona | GCU Stadium | 6,000 |
| Houston Baptist Huskies | Houston, Texas | Sorrels Field | 500 |
| Incarnate Word Cardinals | San Antonio, Texas | Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium | |
| Kansas City Roos | Kansas City, Missouri | Durwood Soccer Stadium | 3,200 |
| San Jose State Spartans | San Jose, California | Spartan Soccer Field | 1,000 |
| Seattle Redhawks | Seattle, Washington | Championship Field | 1,000 |
| UNLV Rebels | Las Vegas, Nevada | Peter Johann Soccer Field | 500 |
| Utah Valley Wolverines | Orem, Utah | Clyde Field | 1,000 |
| UTRGV Vaqueros | Edinburg, Texas | Soccer and Track & Field Complex | 2,000 |

## Head coaches

    As of the 2018 season
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | Record at school | WAC record | NCAA Tournaments | NCAA College Cups | NCAA Titles |
| Air Force | Doug Hill | Air Force (asst.) | 13 | 109–103–23 (.513) | 109–103–23 (.513) | 46–24–13 (.633) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Cal Baptist | Coe Michaelson | Northwest Nazarene | 4 | 108–74–19 (.585) | 38–16–3 (.693) | 0–0–0 (–) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| CSU Bakersfield | Richie Grant | Memphis | 5 | 217–182–38 (.540) | 29–37–12 (.449) | 18–25–7 (.430) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Canyon | Schellas Hyndman | FC Dallas | 5 | 562–214–115 (.695) | 33–38–3 (.466) | 17–20–4 (.463) | 30 | 4 | 0 |
| Houston Baptist | Ryan Pratt | Houston Baptist (asst.) | 1 | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Incarnate Word | Vince Martinez | | 0 | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | | | |
| Kansas City | | | 0 | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| San Jose State | | | 0 | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seattle U | | | 0 | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNLV | | | 0 | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Utah Valley | | | 0 | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UTRGV | | | 0 | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Preseason
### Preseason poll

The preseason poll was released on August 21, 2019.
| | Team Ranking | Points | First Place Votes |
| 1. | Seattle U | 112 | 5 |
| 2. | UTRGV | 104 | 2 |
| T-3. | Air Force | 88 | 3 |
| T-3. | Grand Canyon | 88 | 1 |
| 5. | UNLV | 87 | 0 |
| 6. | San José State | 77 | 1 |
| 7. | Utah Valley | 75 | 0 |
| 8. | Cal Baptist | 49 | 0 |
| 9. | CSU Bakersfield | 387 | 0 |
| T-10. | Houston Baptist | 27 | 0 |
| T-10. | Kansas City | 27 | 0 |
| 12. | Incarnate Word | 20 | 0 |

### Preseason national polls

The preseason national polls were released in July and August 2019.
| | United Soccer | CSN | Soccer America | Top Drawer Soccer |
| Air Force | 19 | RV | RV | 23 |
| Cal Baptist | — | — | — | — |
| CSU Bakersfield | — | — | — | — |
| Grand Canyon | — | — | — | — |
| Houston Baptist | — | — | — | — |
| Incarnate Word | — | — | — | — |
| Kansas City | — | — | — | — |
| San Jose State | — | — | — | — |
| Seattle U | RV | RV | — | — |
| UNLV | — | — | — | — |
| Utah Valley | RV | RV | — | — |
| UTRGV | — | RV | — | — |

### Preseason awards

Listed in the order that they were released
| Award | Team | Player | Position | Year |

## Regular season
### Early season tournaments

| Team | Tournament | Finish |
| Cal State Bakersfield | John Rennie Nike Invitational | 4th |
| Cal State Bakersfield | Copa de Causeway | 3rd |

### Conference results

Color Key: Home  • Away  • Win  • Loss  • Draw  • Postponed :
| Club | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match |
| Club | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Air Force Falcons (AFA) | KC | UIW | RGV | CBU | CSUB | HBU | SU | SJSU | GCU | UNLV | UVU |
| Air Force Falcons (AFA) | 4–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | Oct 10 | Oct 12 | Oct 19 | Oct 25 | Oct 27 | Oct 31 | Nov 2 | Nov 9 |
| Cal Baptist Lancers (CBU) | SU | GCU | UNLV | AFA | UVU | SJSU | RGV | UIW | HBU | KC | CSUB |
| Cal Baptist Lancers (CBU) | 0–2 | 0–0 | 4–0 | Oct 10 | Oct 12 | Oct 19 | Oct 25 | Oct 27 | Nov 1 | Nov 3 | Nov 9 |
| CSU Bakersfield (CSUB) | SJSU | UNLV | GCU | UVU | AFA | SU | UIW | RGV | KC | HBU | CBU |
| CSU Bakersfield (CSUB) | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | Oct 10 | Oct 12 | Oct 19 | Oct 25 | Oct 27 | Nov 1 | Nov 3 | Nov 9 |
| Grand Canyon Antelopes (GCU) | UIW | CBU | CSUB | SJSU | SU | RGV | HBU | KC | AFA | UVU | UNLV |
| Grand Canyon Antelopes (GCU) | Sep 28 | Oct 4 | Oct 6 | Oct 11 | Oct 13 | Oct 19 | Oct 25 | Oct 27 | Oct 31 | Nov 2 | Nov 9 |
| Houston Baptist Huskies (HBU) | UVU | SU | SJSU | RGV | UIW | AFA | GCU | UNLV | CBU | CSUB | KC |
| Houston Baptist Huskies (HBU) | Sep 28 | Oct 4 | Oct 6 | Oct 11 | Oct 13 | Oct 19 | Oct 25 | Oct 27 | Nov 1 | Nov 3 | Nov 9 |
| Incarnate Word Cardinals (UIW) | @ GCU | TBD | TBD | TBD | SU | TBD | HBU | TBD | @ AFA | TBD | TBD |
| Incarnate Word Cardinals (UIW) | Sep 28 | Oct 4 | Oct 6 | Oct 11 | Oct 13 | Oct 19 | Oct 25 | Oct 27 | Oct 31 | Nov 3 | Nov 9 |
| Kansas City Roos (KC) | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Kansas City Roos (KC) | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| San Jose State Spartans (SJSU) | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| San Jose State Spartans (SJSU) | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Seattle Redhawks (SU) | CBU | HBU | KC | @ UNLV | @ GCU | TBD | AFA | UVU | @ UIW | @ RGV | SJSU |
| Seattle Redhawks (SU) | Sep 28 | Oct 4 | Oct 6 | Oct 11 | Oct 13 | Oct 19 | Oct 15 | Oct 27 | Nov 1 | Nov 3 | Nov 9 |
| UNLV Rebeles (UNLV) | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| UNLV Rebeles (UNLV) | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Utah Valley (UVU) | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Utah Valley (UVU) | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| UTRGV Vaqueros (RGV) | @UNLV | UVU | AFA | @HBU | @KC | GCU | @CBU | @CSUB | SJSU | SU | @UIW |
| UTRGV Vaqueros (RGV) | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | Oct 11 | Oct 13 | Oct 19 | Oct 25 | Oct 27 | Nov 1 | Nov 3 | Nov 9 |

## Postseason
### WAC Tournament

| First round Nov. 13 | First round Nov. 13 | First round Nov. 13 | Semifinals Nov. 15 | Semifinals Nov. 15 | Semifinals Nov. 15 | Championship Nov. 17 | Championship Nov. 17 | Championship Nov. 17 |
| | | | 1 | Seattle U | 1 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Cal State Bakersfield | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Cal State Bakersfield | 1 | 4 | Cal State Bakersfield | 0 | | | |
| 5 | San Jose State | 0 | | | | | | |
| 5 | San Jose State | 0 | | | | 1 | Seattle U (pen.) | 0 (2) |
| | | | | | | 2 | Utah Valley | 0 (1) |
| 2 | Utah Valley | 3 | | | | | | | 2 | Utah Valley | 0 (1) |
| 7 | Kansas City | 0 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Kansas City | 0 | 2 | Utah Valley (pen.) | 0 (6) | | | |
| | | | 3 | Air Force | 0 (5) | | | |
| 3 | Air Force | 3 | 3 | Air Force | 0 (5) | | | |
| 6 | Houston Baptist | 2 | | | | | | |

### NCAA Tournament

The NCAA Tournament will begin in November 2019 and conclude on December 17, 2019.
| Seed | Region | School | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship |

## Rankings
### National rankings

| | Improvement in ranking |
| | Drop in ranking |
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 |
| NV | No votes received |
| | | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 |
| Air Force | USC | 19 | 25 | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| Air Force | TDS | 23 | 23 | 23 | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| Cal Baptist | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| Cal Baptist | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| CSU Bakersfield | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| CSU Bakersfield | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| Grand Canyon | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| Grand Canyon | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| Houston Baptist | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| Houston Baptist | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| Incarnate Word | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| Incarnate Word | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| Kansas City | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| Kansas City | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| San Jose State | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| San Jose State | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| Seattle U | USC | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| Seattle U | TDS | NV | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| UNLV | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| UNLV | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| Utah Valley | USC | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| Utah Valley | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | | | | |
| UTRGV | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | NV | NV | | None released | None released | None released | None released |
| UTRGV | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | 24 | 24 | NV | | | | |

### Regional rankings

| | Improvement in ranking |
| | Drop in ranking |
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 10 |
| NV | No votes received |
The Far West region of the United Soccer poll ranks teams across the Pac-12, WAC, and Big West.
| | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 |
| Air Force | 5 | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Cal Baptist | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| CSU Bakersfield | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Grand Canyon | NV | NV | 10 | 10 | 9 | NV | NV |
| Houston Baptist | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Incarnate Word | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Kansas City | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| San Jose State | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Seattle U | 4 | 8 | 8 | NV | NV | 5 | 6 |
| UNLV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Utah Valley | 6 | 10 | NV | NV | NV | 8 | 5 |
| UTRGV | NV | NV | NV | 6 | 5 | 6 | 9 |

## Awards and honors
### Postseason honors

2019 WAC Men's Soccer Individual Awards :
* Award
* Player of the Year
* Coach of the Year
* Defensive Player of the Year
* Rookie of the Year
2019 WAC Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Rookie Team |

## 2020 MLS Draft

The 2020 MLS SuperDraft will be held in January 2020.

### Total picks by school

| Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Total |
| Air Force | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cal Baptist | – | – | – | – | – |
| CSU Bakersfield | – | – | – | – | – |
| Grand Canyon | – | – | – | – | – |
| Houston Baptist | – | – | – | – | – |
| Incarnate Word | – | – | – | – | – |
| Kansas City | – | – | – | – | – |
| San Jose State | – | – | – | – | – |
| Seattle U | – | – | – | – | – |
| UNLV | – | – | – | – | – |
| Utah Valley | – | – | – | – | – |
| UTRGV | – | – | – | – | – |

### List of selections

| Rnd. | Pick | Player | Pos. | Team | School |

## Homegrown players

The Homegrown Player Rule is a Major League Soccer program that allows MLS teams to sign local players from their own development academies directly to MLS first team rosters. Before the creation of the rule in 2008, every player entering Major League Soccer had to be assigned through one of the existing MLS player allocation processes, such as the MLS SuperDraft.
To place a player on its homegrown player list, making him eligible to sign as a homegrown player, players must have resided in that club's home territory and participated in the club's youth development system for at least one year. Players can play college soccer and still be eligible to sign a homegrown contract.
| Original MLS team | Player | Pos. | School | Ref. |