Point Loma is the two-time defending Pacific West Conference men's soccer champ, and the league's coaches strongly believe that in 2025 they will make it three in a row. 

The Sea Lions received 10 of the 13 first place votes for 164 poll points, outdistancing Hawai`i Hilo and Westmont who tied for second with 140. Menlo (fourth) and Vanguard (fifth), two 2024 PacWest newcomers who made very impressive Division II debuts, round out the top five. 

As predicted by the coaches last Fall, Point Loma won the PacWest regular season title with a 9-1-1 record (36 points). They dominated the PacWest postseason awards with forward Elijah Langford nabbing Player of the Year honors and Ryan Doyle was selected as Defender of the Year.

The bad news for PacWest coaches is both Langford and Doyle are back in 2025 for Coach of the Year Phil Wolf. So is First Team selection Simon Sagal, Second Team picks Zach Mercieca and Emmett Layman, along with Third Team goalkeeper Jeremy Caringella. Nine starters return for Wolf, and although he lost a handful of good players to graduation, he also brought in graduate transfer Cole Friesen, who is the all-time leading scorer at Whitworth College. Additionally, Curtis Collazos (First Team All-CCAA) is one of three transfers making their way from one end of the county to the other from CS San Marcos. 

While Point Loma won the regular season title, it was Westmont who captured the inaugral PacWest Championship Tournament. The Warriors defeated Hawai`i Hilo in overtime and then Fresno Pacific in the title match and made their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. They finished with an overall record of 12-5-4, the most victories of any team in the conference.

Westmont is picked to share second place in 2025, led by First Team pick Erik Guerrero, Second Team selection Serkan Durna and Third Team pick Cash Anderholt. Head coach Morgan Cathey has five returning starters and lost six. He will try and close that gap with transfers Logan Race (Azusa Pacific) and Marcus Valdez (San Francisco State), along with ten returnees and three freshmen. 

Hawai`i Hilo, who claimed one of the first place votes not given to Point Loma, shares the second rung with Westmont. The Vulcans went 11-6-1 last season under head coach Diego Marroquin, who enters his third season on the Big Island in 2025. 

Marroquin will count on his defense, led by three-time All-PacWest defender Koki Hamada and Third Team All-PacWest defender Felix Drizinski. UH Hilo has seven returning starters and a very impressive transfer in Iago Perez Ferreiro from Southern New Hampshire, who was the Northeast-10 Player of the Year and scored 45 points over three seasons with the Penmen. The Vulcans did not lose (4-0-1) in their final five matches of the regular season to qualify for the conference tournament. 

Menlo, picked eighth in last year's poll, made a surprising run at the conference title in 2024. They land in the fourth spot in the 2025 listing with 132 poll points and one first place vote. The Oaks were 8-1-2 in conference play last year (33 points) and 10-4-3 overall. Head coach Keith Lambert has 15 returnees from that team including First Team All-PacWest David Stuber and Second-Team picks Martin Fiala and Isak Haukefaer. 

Vanguard, like Menlo, was not eligible for the conference tournament last year but would have qualified if not in their first year of NCAA participation with their fourth place finish. Picked ninth in the preseason poll, the Lions went 6-3-2 in PacWest play and were 8-4-3 overall. Head coach Jesus Miramontes has the PacWest Goalkeeper of the Year Aiden Hay returning, along with seven starters and five transfers. 

Fresno Pacific, who upset Point Loma in the conference semifinals last year and reached the PacWest title match, is sixth in this year's poll with 101 poll points and one first place vote. Second-year head coach Cameron Shahrokhi has 2024 PacWest scoring leader Lucas Ribeiro to spearhead his offense. Ribeiro had 13 goals last Fall and was a First Team All-PacWest selection. Third Team pick Juan Aran Martin leads the defense for Shahrokhi, who also has eight returnees and five transfers to work with.

Biola is seventh with 96 poll points and one second place vote to round out the top half of the poll. Head coach Joey O'Keefe has one of the league's top players in three-time All-PacWest pick Ethan Hardin (2nd Team in 2024) and also returns Third Team selection Cruz Navarro. O'Keefe also has 11 transfers at his disposal along with 15 total returnees. 

Concordia is next (76 points). First-year head coach Josh Glover has plenty to work with including First Team All-PacWest honoree Miguel Arroyo, who was fourth in the conference with 1.29 points per game (six goals, six assists). Eight starters are back for the Golden Eagles, along with six transfers. Dominican is next behind CUI with 65 points. Veteran head coach David Frank has seven returning starters, 17 returnees and five transfers to work with. 

Azusa Pacific (60 points) is tenth. Head coach David Blomquist, in his 16th season, has Second Team All-Conference selection Luis Solis and Third-Team Andrew Gomez to anchor his team. The Cougars also have eight total returning starters and five transfers. APU was 4-5-2 in conference play a year ago. Hawai`i Pacific (52 points) follows in 11th. Like Blomquist, HPU head coach Chris Fisher is in his 16th season. The Sharks have 12 players back from last year and Fisher has added eight transfers. 

Jessup (35 points) and Chaminade (13) round out the poll. Jessup went 4-5-2 in its first PacWest season last year, finishing the year strong with a pair of wins and a tie. Head coach Gregory Lazaga has four starters back and bolstered his line-up with six junior college transfers. Chaminade has seven starters back for fourth-year head coach Joshua Woodard, and Woodard added six transfers to the Silversword line-up. 

Official play begins on September 4 and 6 with all 13 PacWest teams springing into action. Match-ups that first long weekend between PacWest teams and CCAA powers include Biola and Point Loma taking on Cal Poly Pomona, while Fresno Pacific and Hawai`i Hilo will travel to southern California to tackle CS Los Angeles. Vanguard will face regular season CCAA champ CS Dominguez Hills. PacWest counting matches will begin the first weekend of October. To see the full 2025 schedule of matches, click here.