BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--- The Mississippi College men's soccer team was picked to finish fifth in the Gulf South Conference preseason coaches poll, as released by the GSC office on Thursday, Aug 11. Also, the pair of Joshua Davies and Noah Wagner were named to the conference's 12-player preseason All-Conference team.

MC is one of four teams with multiple players represented on the preseason All-GSC team. MC joines Lee University and Auburn-Montgomery who led the way with three players apiece, and then West Florida who also had two.

Davies, a defender from Southampton, England, is a two-time All-GSC selection. He picked up 2nd team honors in both 2021 and 2019. Last season, Davies earned his 2nd team selection as he helped lead one of the top defenses in the GSC. He played 1,403 minutes on the season, third most on the team, across 17 appearances (all starts). He scored three goals on the season. Davies was also a 2nd team All-GSC selection in 2019 (he also earned 2nd team All-South Region (D2CCA) and 3rd team All-South Region (USC) honors that season). For his career Davies has three goals across 36 appearances (he's started every match he's appeared in).

Wagner, a forward from Corpus Christi, Texas, returns for MC after picking up 2nd team All-GSC honors in his debut season in Clinton a year ago. Wagner was second on the team with seven goals last year. He also added two assists. His 16 points was also good for second on the team. He appeared in 14 matches (nine starts) on the season, while playing 875 minutes. Wagner also picked up a GSC Offensive Player of the Week award on September 28th of last year.

The Choctaws were picked to finish fifth in the conference's preseason coaches poll with 90 points. Fifth is where MC entered into the GSC tournament a year ago (MC tied for third in the table, but were the 5-seed in the tournament due to tiebreakers). MC finished 10-6-1 last season with a 7-3-1 mark in GSC play.

West Florida finished first in the poll by a narrow margin. They picked up six 1st place votes and racked up 114 points. Auburn-Montgomery trailed closely behind in 2nd with 111 points as they picked up three 1st place votes. Lee (one 1st place vote and 96 points) and Montevallo (two 1st place votes and 93 points) finished third and fourth respectively right ahead of the Choctaws in the top five.

Christian Brothers (69 points), Spring Hill (52), Alabama-Huntsville (50), West Alabama (45), and Union (38) finished out the top ten behind MC. Delta State (22) and Shorter (12) then rounded out the pole. 

The GSC also announced their top newcomers watch list along with the preseason team. MC's honorees on the top newcomers list are Nicolas Milot and Felix Ewald.

Nicolas Milot, a midfielder from Montpellier, France, comes to MC as a transfer from Georgia Military College. He scored eight goals, while contributing eleven assists. He was named NJCAA Division 2 Region 17 Player of the Year. He was also a 1st team NJCAA D2 All-American, was named Most Outstanding Offensive Player of NJCAA D2 national tournament, and was named to the NJCAA D2 All-Tournament team.

Felix Ewald, a midfielder, is a native of Berlin, Germany. He is a freshman and previously played in the Union Berlin Academy.

The Choctaws will open up their season on August 26th as they host Florida Southern.