Tiger men’s soccer team picked to win the conference

After winning last year's NJCAA Plains District Title and an automatic berth into the 2023 NJCAA Division 1 men's soccer national tournament, Cowley College has been picked to win the 2024 Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Division 1 men's soccer preseason order of finish as voted on by league coaches on Tuesday, August 13.

Earning 48 total points and six of seven first-place votes, Cowley is coming off a 16-4-1 overall record last season while going 1-0-1 in the NJCAA Division 1 National Tournament after being put in Pool D with eventual National Champion Monroe Community College. The Tigers outscored opponents 73-17 last season, playing their last six games of the year unbeaten after suffering a three-game losing streak in early October to make it to the national tournament for a third straight year. Two All-KJCCC selections for Cowley, Andre Ecker, and Tkeru Chiba, return for the Tigers.

"It is nice to be picked first as a recognition for what we have done in recent years, but we know that what matters most is how we finish the season," Cowley head coach Ruy Vaz said. "This list can be a motivating factor for different reasons, but our biggest motivation is to get better every day."

Reigning KJCCC Division 1 men's soccer regular-season champion Barton Community College has been picked to finish second with 41 points after winning the program's 12th KJCCC Title last year as part of an 18-4-4 overall record and 9-1-2 mark in the KJCCC. Finishing as the Plains District runner-up last year, Barton received an at-large bid into the 2023 NJCAA Division 1 men's soccer national tournament, where the Cougars went 1-1 in pool play and into a tiebreaker scenario where BCC avenged a loss to Indian Hills with a 4-3 win in penalty kicks before falling to Salt Lake Community College 1-0 in a game that sent the winner into the National Semifinals.

A tie for third in the preseason order of finish saw both Dodge City and Kansas City Kansas Community College earn 28 points, with the Conquistadors receiving the lone remaining first-place vote following a third-place finish last year as part of a 10-5-2 overall record. KCKCC went 7-6-3 last season and defeated the Conquistadors in the Region VI Playoffs opening round before seeing their season end with a defeat to Barton.

The rest of the poll saw Garden City picked fourth with 20 total points under first-year head coach Oscar Zelaya, followed by second-year program Seward County (18 points) picked sixth, and Coffeyville (13 points) picked seventh.

"The Kansas Jayhawk is one of the best conferences in the country, so even if you don't have a good regular season, you can still succeed in the playoffs and at the national level," Vaz said.

Cowley will kick off its season by hosting Neosho County on Wednesday, August 21, at 7 p.m.