KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The High Point University men's soccer team continues to claw up the national poll with its highest ranking in program and school history, moving to No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, which was announced on Tuesday afternoon. This is the official NCAA.com poll.
Dating back to 2024, the Panthers have been ranked in the United Soccer Coaches for 11 regular-season weeks in a row. High Point has been a top-ranked squad in the country since October 15, 2024. On October 28 of last year, HPU earned its No. 11 ranking which the 2025 team tied three weeks ago and now has well surpassed it.
The ranking is the second-highest — of all major Division I polls — in Big South Conference history since 2016 when Coastal Carolina baseball won the national championship.
For the fourth straight week, the Panthers are ranked the No. 1 team in the South Region. The top placement has High Point ahead of Stanford, Virginia, NC State, Duke, SMU, Notre Dame, Gardner-Webb, North Carolina, and Furman. Additionally, the Panthers are No. 6 in RPI, which is a combination of the team's winning percentage and strength of schedule.
High Point entered the United Soccer Coaches rankings following its first 2-0 start since the 2020-21 season. The Panthers defeated No. 14/25 Georgetown in the season opener, 2-1, before shutting out ETSU on the road,1-0.
The Panthers moved to No. 15 after a 1-1 draw with Charlotte, and then after besting VCU via scoring three unanswered goals the Panthers moved up three spots to No. 12. High Point tied No. 10 Marshall and shutout Central Arkansas to slide up one spot to No. 11 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. In its Big South Conference opener, High Point knocked off Presbyterian to move into the top-10 at No. 9.
The Panthers then moved up to No. 7, following its tie with No. 10 West Virginia and shutout of Longwood. High Point continued its thumping of South opponents, securing its second shutout with a 4-0 win over UNC Asheville to enter the top-5 ranking.
In three conference games, the Panthers have outscored opponents 10-1 with the lone goal being a penalty kick late against Presbyterian.
Under Head Coach
Zach Haines, HPU has been ranked six out of his seven years (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025) with the Panthers receiving votes in 2023. HPU earned the program and school's highest national ranking in 2024 when United Soccer Coaches tabbed the Panthers at No. 11, while TopDrawerSoccer ranked High Point No. 2 in the nation. At 7-0-3, this is the best start in the Haines' era, remaining unbeaten through nine matches.
The Panthers have become accustomed to besting some of the nation's top teams under Haines as High Point has defeated: No. 1 Pittsburgh, No. 7 Maryland, North Carolina, Duke, No. 14/25 Georgetown, No. 25 Coastal Carolina while tying No. 2 Georgetown in 2022, No. 10 Marshall and No. 10 West Virginia in 2025. High Point now travels to #23 UNC Greensboro for a Triad Rivarly clash on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 6 p.m.
#GoHPU
2025 Rankings
TopDrawerSoccer (TDS)
United Soccer Coaches (USC)
College Soccer News (CSN)
Preseason: #24 (TDS)
Week 1: #13 (USC), #24 (TDS)
Week 2: #15 (USC), #19 (CSN)
Week 3: #12 (USC), #18 (CSN)
Week 4: #11 (USC), #14 (CSN), #23 (TDS)
Week 5: #9 (USC), #13 (CSN), #19 (TDS)
Week 6: #7 (USC), #9 (CSN), #16 (TDS)
Week 7: #5 (USC), #8 (CSN), #12 (TDS)
