PORTLAND, Ore. - The Great Northwest Athletic Conference has release the 2026 Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll. Northwest Nazarene was tabbed in fourth place, tied with Simon Fraser.
The Nighthawks tallied 17 points and a first place vote in this year's men's soccer preseason poll. NNU placed behind Western Washington with 24 points and a head of Saint Martin's wit six points.
NNU finished last season with a 7-7-4 overall record and finished fifth in the conference with a 3-5-2 GNAC record. Led by long-time assistant coach
Julio Castillo, Northwest Nazarene will look to return to the top of the GNAC for the first time since 2022 where they won the conference with a 9-2-1 GNAC record and advanced to the NCAA Regional final.
The Nighthawks tied with College of Idaho in an exhibition last Friday and will open up regular season play on the road against Westminster (Utah) and MSU Denver on August 27 and 29. Their regular season home opener will be against Fort Lewis and Colorado Mesa on Sept. 10 and 12 before another road trip to Salem, Ore. to face West Texas A&M and St. Mary's (Texas). NNU will start conference play at home against Seattle Pacific who was picked to win the conference with 32 points and two first place votes.
| 2026 GNAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll |
| Rank |
Team (1st Place Votes) |
Points |
2025 Record |
2025 GNAC Record (Finish) |
| 1 |
Seattle Pacific (2) |
32 |
12-5-4 |
6-2-2 (T1st) |
| 2 |
Western Oregon (3) |
30 |
11-5-4 |
6-2-2 (T1st) |
| 3 |
Western Washington |
24 |
8-8-3 |
6-3-1 (3rd) |
| T4 |
Northwest Nazarene (1) |
17 |
7-7-4 |
3-5-2 (5th) |
| T4 |
Simon Fraser |
17 |
6-9-3 |
5-4-1 (4th) |
| 6 |
Saint Martin's |
6 |
1-17 |
0-10 (6th) |
| Points awarded on a 6-5-3-2-1 basis. |
