How Soon Can We Kick Off the 2024 Division III Soccer Season?
This year, perhaps more than others, I have been itching for the season to start. Not sure the reason, but I miss the games. A lot of work has gone on with the D3Soccer.Fans this off season with the aim of being ready for the 2024 season. Well, a lot of the work is done, and now it’s time to focus on the things that I find the most enjoyable.
With that in mind, I started jotting down some of the interesting storylines in men’s and women’s Division III soccer.
1. To start, count me as someone who is interested in watch former Washington & Lee men’s coach, Mike Singleton, take over the women’s program at Goucher College. Maybe not just a 2024 story, but definitely over the next few years. You can watch the recent interview with Coach Singleton below.
2. Speaking of Washington & Lee. As of now, no coach has been announced, but I am interested in seeing how one of the best programs in the country respond to losing their coach.
3. After 17 years at Catholic University, Travis Beauchamp has resigned and will be replaced by Connor Keenan, Head Men’s Coach at Kings College. I’ve always expected more from Catholic. Let’s see if a coaching change can make that happen.
4. Alyssa Johnson, former women’s coach at Bethany College, is taking over at Case Western University. Case has been in rarified air for the last few seasons. Will the tradition continue?
5. Ok, it will be Year Two with Travis Wall at Kenyon College. I think they could have an incredible year ….
6. My National Coach of the Year, Duncan Gillis, will be in his third year at Caltech. In that time, he led the squad in 2023 to its best season…. ever. Do the Caltech men have another record breaking year?
7. Consider me curious to see what happens at Ursinus College with new head men’s coach Colin Klingman.
8. And after an incredible season, well, am also curious to see how Head Coach Rod Lafauire and the Occidental College men follow up last years run.
9. Wash U was quite possibly the best women’s team in the country, only losing twice in the year, including in the 2023 NCAA final. Does the squad still have the ambition to make it back to the big show?
10. Whither the TCNJ men’s and women’s teams?
11. With coach Philip Kroft going into his second year, and two years since winning the national championship, do the Chicago men hunger for another title?
12. The whole Landmark seems to be due for some change in 2024…. 4 new men’s coaches taking charge at Catholic, Lycoming, Scranton and Elizabethtown. And the aforementioned Coach Singleton taking over the Goucher women’s program.
13. I keep holding out hope that Cortland State or Montclair State will take home a national title and make all public schools proud. Coach Axtell has the Cortland men’s program achieving great heights year in and year out. And Montclair State has a steady flow of some of the best talent in Division III soccer, including this year Division III Player of the Year, Amer Lukovic.
14. Out in the Ohio Athletic Conference, it will be interesting to see former Muskingum University Head Men’s Coach Corey Kirk, take over at Capital University.
15. Speaking of Ohio, this fall could be a real humdinger in the buckeye state. The aforementioned Kenyon and Capital are looking strong…. but don’t forget about perennial NCAC powerhouse Ohio Wesleyan. And then there is John Carroll. But wait, Coach Brandon Bianco’s Denison is getting better with age. And please, if that wasn’t enough, Ohio Northern? Otterbein? And who can forget Case Western Reserve under Coach Carter Poe? And the best of the bunch…. at least in my heart … is the growing Mount Union Purple Raiders.
16. Finally, I would be remis if I did not mention … I am most definitely intrigued in what brave new world the AI Overlords at Pairwise will bring to the rankings and tournament picture …
So, there you have it. Already have a list ready for episode II. Chime in with any other storylines you may have.
SC.
I’ll add a few more West region-tinged storylines to watch, with some of them lasting longer than this season:
1. How do things shakeout in Texas this year and next?
After the dust settles on a bunch of conference affiliation changes taking effect this year and next, the American Southwest Conference will only have four teams (Mary Hardin-Baylor, Hardin-Simmons, East Texas Baptist, and Howard Payne). Concordia (TX), McMurry, and Ozarks are joining the SCAC this fall, Sul Ross State is gone to DII, with UT Dallas joining them next season, and LeTourneau has accepted a spot in the SCAC for Fall 2025. The rumor was that the remaining ASC four would affiliate with the Coast-to-Coast conference for all sports except football, but that seems to have stalled. It doesn’t look like there’s a pathway to join the SCAC, which now is filled with schools that left the ASC seemingly to get away from some or all of those schools. In part because of the lack of a football option for the so-called “Baptist Four,” there is a real chance all of them leave DIII for DII or NAIA. That would be a big loss of DIII schools in Texas in just a couple year period.
In the meantime, will we be watching the final year of the ASC this season, with only 6 teams remaining (including LeTourneau and UT Dallas)
2. What will the effect of the House antitrust lawsuit settlement be on DIII and Region X?
This isn’t a this season issue, but at some point the NCAA subsidy for DIII championships could dry up and that may have a significant effect on fees/travel/structure of the tournament. That could disproportionately hurt Region X teams, who count on the subsidy to enable them to travel to even the first round NCAA tournament sites, which are a flight away for at least two of the teams almost by definition. It’s something to keep an eye on going forward.
3. Can Matt Corti-Young get things back on track at Willamette?
The school had a losing season for the first time since 2015 last year and they now have a new coach in Matt Corti-Young, who joins from DI UCSD, but had a strong 5-year run as head coach of DIII Claremont-Mudd-Scripps before that, winning DIII West Region Coach of the Year in 2019 when he led the team to a 16-4-2 record and a loss in the third round of the NCAA tournament to Centre College. He comes in too late to influence recruiting for this year, so we’ll see if he can make a difference with the players that he has inherited.
4. Can Ernesto Ramirez restore order at St. Thomas?
St. Thomas has always been a supremely talented and undisciplined squad of players and it finally blew up in their face last year in a major brawl against Texas Lutheran that ended with the coach being fired and many players suspended. They hired Coach Ramirez, and assistant at Occidental, to replace him. We’ll see if he can get the players to cut down on cards, fighting, and general behavioral issues. If he can harness the competitive culture in a positive way, they have a ton of talent.
@Kuiper.
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1. How do things shakeout in Texas this year and next?
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4. Can Ernesto Ramirez restore order at St. Thomas?
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Just like my eyes were on the Midwest and West last year, I cant help but looking toward Texas this year. A National Champion could come from there….
Funny thing is I think St. Thomas has talent…. I just put them in the penalty box for awhile because their behavior… an interview target for sure…
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2. What will the effect of the House antitrust lawsuit settlement be on DIII and Region X?
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Re: the lawsuit. I think that’s going to take some time to feel the full impact of what has been wrought.
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3. Can Matt Corti-Young get things back on track at Willamette?
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Thank you for the interview idea….
Thanks for the insights @Kuiper.
SC.
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