KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The High Point University men's soccer team received its highest preseason United Soccer Coaches ranking, which was announced on Tuesday afternoon, at No. 16 ahead of the 2026 campaign. This is the official NCAA.com poll and best preseason ranking in program history since the Panthers were ranked No. 24 in the 2021 preseason poll.
The 16th-ranked Panthers have matchups set against five of the top 14 teams in the nation: at #3 Furman (Aug. 8), at #5 Georgetown (Sept. 11), at #7 Maryland (Aug. 29), at #11 Virginia (Aug. 24), and versus #14 UNC Greensboro (Oct. 20).
Dating back to 2024, HPU has been ranked in the United Soccer Coaches for 18 weeks in a row. The Panthers have been a top-ranked squad in the country since October 15, 2024. On October 28, 2024, HPU earned its highest ranking at No. 11 ranking before rising as high as No. 5 on October 7, 2025. HPU ended the program's best season in 2025 ranked No. 16.
HPU Head Coach
Zach Haines enters his eighth year at the helm after a historic 2025 season. Behind a 14-2-4 record and highest national ranking (#5), Haines led the Panthers to their first-ever second round win in the NCAA Tournament — a 3-2 victory over West Virginia at Vert Stadium in front of over 5000 fans. It was also the school's first-ever time hosting a second round game on campus, and its first appearance in the Sweet Sixteen in any sport. Haines' squad didn't suffer a loss until after the 10th game to a Sweet Sixteen UNCG team. The Panthers completed a perfect, undefeated 9-0 Big South record and held league opponents to the best goal differential in conference history (30 goals for -1 against). Haines' tenure of defeating big-time teams continued with wins over #14/25 Georgetown in the season opener as well as results against #10 Marshall and #10 West Virginia in the regular season. Haines' Panthers were the first team in school and league history to receive a ranking from the NCAA Top 16 Committee at #7 before earning the school's highest national seed in the NCAA Tournament at #10.
HPU swept the league trophies, winning the Big South regular-season and tournament titles as Haines coached the nation's only four-time major award winner in a different category (
Jefferson Amaya) and the team's first TopDrawerSoccer Player of the Year finalist and the team's fifth MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List honoree (
Daniel Lugo). Lugo also became the first men's soccer player to be named the Big South Male Athlete of the Year, while
Josh Caron was the first to be honored as the Big South Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Panthers had three players drafted in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft, which is the most in one season for any Big South school ever, as
Daniel Lugo (First Round),
Jefferson Amaya (Second Round), and
Koven Johnson (Third Round) were selected. In total, he's coached six MLS SuperDraft picks and the only HPU men's soccer head coach to do so.
In the Haines Era, HPU has been ranked seven out of his eight years (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025, & 2026) with the Panthers receiving votes in 2023. The Panthers have never shied away from a tough schedule, ending 2025 at No. 15 in the RPI and No. 16 in the rankings. Over the years, High Point has defeated: No. 1 Pittsburgh, No. 7 Maryland, North Carolina, West Virginia, Duke, No. 14/25 Georgetown, and No. 25 Coastal Carolina, while tying No. 2 Georgetown in 2022, No. 10 Marshall and No. 10 West Virginia in 2025.
#GoHPU
2026 Rankings
TopDrawerSoccer (TDS)
United Soccer Coaches (USC)
College Soccer News (CSN)
Preseason: #16 (USC)
