| 2021 CCAA Men's Soccer Poll |
| 1. |
Cal State LA (10) |
120 |
| 2. |
Cal Poly Pomona (2) |
109 |
| 3. |
Chico State |
92 |
| 4. |
Cal State San Bernardino |
89 |
| 5. |
Sonoma State |
74 |
| 6. |
Cal State San Marcos |
60 |
| 7. |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
58 |
| 8. |
San Francisco State |
56 |
| 9. |
Humboldt State |
50 |
| 10. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
46 |
| 11. |
Stanislaus State |
23 |
| 12. |
Cal State East Bay |
15 |
| First-place votes in parenthesis |
CHICO, Calif. - Cal State LA has been selected as the 2021 CCAA men's soccer preseason favorites after receiving 120 points in the coaches' poll.
The Golden Eagles, who went undefeated in CCAA play to win the CCAA regular-season championship in 2019, earned 10 of the 12 first-place votes in the preseason coaches' poll. During the 2019 season, Cal State LA opened the year with nine straight wins and went unbeaten on its run to the national championship match before suffering their first defeat. CSLA finished the season at 19-1-3.
Cal Poly Pomona, which won the 2019 CCAA Men's Soccer Tournament Championship on penalty kicks over Cal State LA, placed second in the preseason poll with 109 points, and the two other first-place votes. The Broncos were followed in the poll by Chico State (92 points), Cal State San Bernardino (89), and Sonoma State (74) to round out the top 5.
The Chico State Wildcats have placed in the top 5 of the league standings each of the past three seasons. In 2019, they finished the year at 12-5-0 and 8-4-0 in the CCAA.
CSUSB is looking to recapture the magic from the 2019 season (14-4-3, 8-2-2 CCAA) when the Yotes made a run to the championship match of the NCAA West Regional as the No. 5 seed.
The coaches are also expecting Sonoma State to be back among the top-tier teams in the conference after finishing 6-10-1 in 2019 (4-7-0).
Cal State San Marcos was picked to finish sixth after placing seventh in 2019. During the season the Cougars thrived at home, going 5-2-1, including earning a tie against CCAA Tournament Champions, Cal Poly Pomona. Cal State Dominguez Hills is another team expected to outperform their 2019 finish. The Toros were voted to take seventh with 58 points a season after placing 11th. San Francisco State was just two points back of CSUDH with 56 points. The Gators went 10-7-0 in 2019 and placed sixth in the CCAA (7-5-0).
Humboldt State (50), Cal State Monterey Bay, Stanislaus State (23), and Cal State East Bay (15) rounded out the voting for the 2021 CCAA preseason coaches' poll.
The 2021 season will begin on Thursday, September 2 with nine of the 12 CCAA men's soccer teams in action. Cal State Dominguez Hills will get the season started for everyone with its at 1 p.m. at Point Loma. Defending CCAA Tournament Champions, Cal Poly Pomona, will open its season at home later that evening (7 p.m.) against Concordia from the PacWest Conference. Preseason favorites, Cal State LA, will open play on Sept. 5 at home against Simon Fraser.
Click here to see the 2021 CCAA composite men's soccer schedule.
The NCAA Division II postseason selection show will be held on Sunday, November 14 and CCAA Tournament Champion will receive the league's automatic bid. The other teams will need to earn an at-large selection to the limited field. The first round of the postseason will start on Thursday, November 18.