IRVING, Texas – The earliest polls are in and officials from the American Conference office announced on Friday the results of the conference Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll and also the members of the 2026 Women's Soccer Watch List. In the highest preseason pick since joining the league, defending champion UTSA was selected at No. 2 in the preseason poll. In addition, senior Jasmine Kessler repeats on the watch list, alongside redshirt junior Aaliyaiah Durden and sophomore Brooklyn Bailey – all three originally out of Spring, Texas.
Representing the highest UTSA ranking in a predicted preseason order since joining the American Conference, the Roadrunners were selected second by the league’s coaches with 80 points, just behind perennial powerhouse Memphis with 10 first-place votes and 100 points. Following UTSA are Rice, South Florida with one first-place vote, Tulsa, Charlotte, East Carolina, UAB, North Texas, Florida Atlantic and Temple.
Making her second preseason watch list appearance, Kessler (goalkeeper/Spring, Texas) has an impeccable history in the net for the Roadrunners and within the conference over the past three seasons. Last year, Kessler was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region Third Team, American All-Conference Second Team and was the American Championships Most Outstanding Defensive Player after leading the Roadrunners in goal to their first American title. Kessler played in and started 22 games for UTSA last year – both single-season UTSA goalkeeper records, while also setting the UTSA career wins (22), draws (12) and shutout (16) records, along with tying the season victories mark and setting the season draws and keeper minutes marks with a 10-6-6 record on 1929:24 in goal. In 2025, she finished the year ranked second in the American Conference in goals-against-average with an NCAA 78th-best 0.93 and an NCAA 58th-best .817 save percentage. She made 89 saves in the 2025 campaign, the seventh-most in UTSA history, moving to second in the UTSA career records at 187 saves. In addition, in moving the Roadrunners past third-ranked Memphis, she both put away a penalty kick and made the final save to secure a spot in the championship game.
Earning a spot on last year’s American All-Freshman Team, Bailey (forward/Spring, Texas) was on the American All-Tournament Team and led the Roadrunners in assists last season with five. Starting all 22 games, Bailey logged a pair of goals while topping the squad in shots (44) and registering a .386 SOG percentage after playing 1,464 minutes in her rookie campaign. One of those goals was among the most significant of the season, netting an 86th-minute score to start the comeback against Memphis in the American Championships semifinal. Bailey also tied for the fourth-most freshman assists and fourth-most shots in UTSA history.
Starting 21-of-22 games in her first season after joining the Roadrunners from Seminole State, Durden (defender/Spring, Texas) was an immediate core asset on the UTSA back line, named to the American All-Tournament Team. She logged four goals and one assist while shooting .500 SOG of her 18 shots in 1,729 minutes. Durden logged conference game-winners against UAB and Florida Atlantic, in addition to a non-conference GWG against St. Mary’s – dropping into a tie for the fifth-most game-winning goals in a UTSA season (3). Rising up against a 3-1 deficit in the 86th minute of the American Semifinal against No. 3 Memphis, Durden pushed the ball ahead to Bailey for the score that got the rally moving, then netted her own game-tying-goal in the 88th minute to send the game to overtime.
The 2026 American Women’s Soccer Championship will be held November 8-14 at the Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
| 2026 American Conference Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll | ||
|
1 |
Memphis (10) |
100 |
|
2 |
UTSA |
80 |
|
3 |
Rice |
73 |
|
4 |
South Florida (1) |
71 |
|
5 |
Tulsa |
63 |
|
6 |
Charlotte |
58 |
|
7 |
East Carolina |
52 |
|
8 |
UAB |
45 |
|
9 |
North Texas |
28 |
|
10 |
Florida Atlantic |
25 |
|
11 |
Temple |
10 |
|
Note: First-place votes denoted in parenthesis |
||
The reigning American Conference Tournament Champion Roadrunners open the ninth season under head coach Derek Pittman and the program’s 21st season on Aug. 12 at the Park West Athletics Complex, hosting Texas State in the Battle for I-35. Fans can get an early glimpse at the 2026 Roadrunners in a ticketed exhibition contest against Texas at Park West at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 5.
UTSA soccer season tickets are on sale now. All tickets are general admission and can be purchased for $70 (including fees). Season ticket holders in 2026 will receive a ‘thank you’ gift from the team and have access to exclusive team activities, including a team practice, lunch and post-game autograph session. Season ticket members can also purchase a limited-edition 2025 American Championship scarf with their season tickets for an additional $35 at time of purchase (a total price of $105 with ticket fees). To purchase season tickets, click here to order online or call the UTSA Athletics Ticket Office at 210-458-8872 during normal business hours.
Single-game tickets are now on sale as well. The Texas exhibition tickets are available for $27 (all prices including taxes and fees), while season ticket members have been offered exclusive pricing for $12. For the 11 regular season games, tickets are available to the general public with adults for $12, juniors (ages 3-18) for $10, seniors (ages 65+) for $10 and military (with ID) for $10. To purchase single-game tickets, click here to order online or call the UTSA Athletics Ticket Office at 210-458-8872 during normal business hours.
- UTSA -