MOUNT BERRY, Ga. – After taking home the conference championship last season, the Berry College men's soccer team was picked to finish third in the 2026 SAA Preseason Poll, as announced by the conference Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Vikings finished the 2025 season with an 11-6-5 record (3-3-1 SAA), good enough for fourth seed in the SAA Tournament, and then went on an incredible postseason run. The team defeated Oglethorpe in the first round, No. 5 Trinity on penalty kicks in the semifinals, and then took down Southwestern in the championship for their fourth SAA title in program history.
 
Richard Vardy returns as head coach for his 24^th season and oversees a roster that's gone through significant change over the past several months. Nine total seniors graduated from the championship squad, and other key departures will allow the nine incoming freshmen to get extended action.
 
The Vikings do have senior goalkeeper Cooper Cherry coming back for one more season. He started all 22 games and earned Second Team All-SAA honors, recording a 0.94 goals against average, a .813 save percentage, and school record 87 saves and 10 shutouts.
 
The defense will remain strong in front of him thanks to the return of players like Jaxon Champ, Tyler Whitaker, and Aiden Kanclerz. All three played for over one thousand minutes last year and will look to emerge as leaders of the team.
 
Trinity enters the season as the favorites in the SAA and the second ranked team in the country in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll. They totaled 72 points and grabbed eight first place votes.
 
Southwestern was picked second with 55 points and one first place vote, but the Vikings were right behind them in third with 54 points. Sewanee took home fourth with 51 points and Oglethorpe rounded out the top five with 46 points.
 
Voting was conducted among the SAA's nine head coaches.
 
2026 MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL RESULTS
1. Trinity - 72 (8)
2. Southwestern - 55 (1)
3. Berry - 54
4. Sewanee - 51
5. Oglethorpe - 46
6. Rhodes - 39
7. Centre - 32
8. Maryville - 31
9. Millsaps – 16
 
The 2026 SAA Men's Soccer Championship is slated for November 4-8 in Brookhaven, Georgia, at Oglethorpe University.