South Alabama has ruled over Sun Belt women's soccer with an iron fist for the past few years. Never has their grip felt more crushing than it did last year, when the Jaguars won the league/conference tournament double before smashing LSU in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. It's difficult to envision USA falling from their perch this year either with almost all the main protagonists from last year's triumph returning to the fold this season.
The rest of the conference looks very closely-matched, which could make for some drama down the stretch. Coastal Carolina, a contender in the Big South, joins the league this season and will hope to be competitive right off the bat.
Let's take a look at the Sun Belt in our D1 Women's Soccer 2016 Preview. The projections below are my own, and they differ slightly from the preseason D1 Women's Soccer rankings by BennettRank since BR, as a computer poll, doesn't take roster turnover into account.
| My Projection | Team (Preseason BennettRank) |
|---|---|
| 1 | South Alabama (BR-80) |
| 2 | Louisiana-Lafayette (BR-230) |
| 3 | Texas State (BR-160) |
| 4 | Troy (BR-117) |
| 5 | Arkansas-Little Rock (BR-181) |
| 6 | Coastal Carolina (BR-146) |
| 7 | Appalachian State (BR-150) |
| 8 | Georgia Southern (BR-201) |
| 9 | Georgia State (BR-192) |
| 10 | Arkansas State (BR-259) |
| 11 | Louisiana-Monroe (BR-257) |
Use your arrow keys or the arrows above and below to navigate the team-by-team previews.
