RICHMOND, Va. – The Elon men's soccer team topped the CAA South preseason poll Monday as the conference unveiled its preseason awards.
The Phoenix also had five preseason All-CAA honorees.
Magnus Jacobsen,
Weston Jonke,
Martin Kozak and
Dominik Renz were all named to the preseason All-CAA Team, with
Ben Madore chosen as an honorable mention.
Elon, the defending CAA champions, received nine of 10 first-place votes in the South Division to finish atop the preseason poll for the second straight season. The Phoenix secured 45 total points in the voting, the most of any team in the conference.
Jacobsen made 17 appearances as a defender for the Phoenix in 2025, making 12 starts and logging 1,243 minutes on the back line. As a rookie last season, Jacobsen went the full distance on 11 occasions and played all 180 minutes in Elon's two CAA Tournament victories and the entire 110 minutes in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He scored his first career goal in Elon's semifinal victory against Campbell.
Jonke returns for his second season with the Phoenix after playing 1,584 minutes in 2025, the third most on the campaign by an Elon field player. The junior started all 19 matches in Elon's midfield a season ago, going the full 90 minutes seven times. He notched an assist in both of Elon's CAA Tournament triumphs.
Kozak is coming off a prolific season in which he netted All-CAA Third Team and CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. The senior forward led the Phoenix in goals (5), assists (8) and points (18) in 2025, with eight of those points coming during Elon's CAA Tournament title run. Kozak's eight assists were the most by any Elon player since 2006 and the second most among CAA scorers. Earlier this month, Kozak was named to the Hermann Trophy watch list.
Renz became Elon's first ever CAA Rookie of the Year a season ago after a debut campaign featuring 12 points. The forward's four goals were all game-winning tallies, the second most game-winning goals in the conference last season. The redshirt junior had a goal and assist in the CAA Tournament semifinal win against Campbell and added another helper in the championship match. Renz earned a spot on the All-CAA Second Team, All-CAA Rookie Team and CAA All-Tournament Team in 2025.
Madore will debut for the Phoenix this fall after spending the last three years at Penn State. The midfielder made 31 appearances with the Nittany Lions over the last two seasons, making nine starts. Madore netted five goals to go along with an assist in 2025.
Elon hosts VMI on Thursday at Rudd Field to kick off its 2026 season. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
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2026 CAA Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
| Team (1st Place Votes) |
Points |
| North |
|
| Hofstra (8) |
43 |
| Stony Brook (1) |
37 |
| Monmouth (1) |
30 |
| Drexel |
20 |
| Northeastern |
15 |
|
|
| South |
|
| Elon (9) |
45 |
| UNCW (1) |
32 |
| Charleston |
27 |
| Campbell |
21 |
| William & Mary |
20 |
CAA Preseason Player of the Year
Pietro Santi, Hofstra
Preseason All-CAA Team
| Player |
Team |
Pos. |
Class |
Hometown |
| Victor Andersson |
Monmouth |
F |
Jr. |
Örebro, Sweden |
| Martin Kozak |
Elon |
F |
Sr. |
Santiago, Chile |
| Matt Lenert |
Charleston |
F |
Sr. |
Falls Church, Va. |
| Finlay Oliver |
Stony Brook |
F |
Sr. |
Oneonta, N.Y. |
| Dominik Renz |
Elon |
F |
R-Jr. |
Ulm, Germany |
| Alex Fleury |
Stony Brook |
M |
Sr. |
Lachine, Quebec, Canada |
| Morgan Worsfold-Gregg |
Drexel |
M |
Jr. |
London, England |
| Osei Gyamfi |
UNCW |
M |
Jr. |
Kumasi, Ghana |
| Weston Jonke |
Elon |
M |
Jr. |
Cleveland, Ohio |
| Ben Baldwin |
Charleston |
D |
Jr. |
Dallas, Texas |
| Magnus Jacobsen |
Elon |
D |
So. |
Silkeborg, Denmark |
| Jake Roberts |
UNCW |
D |
Sr. |
Huntersville, N.C. |
| Pietro Santi |
Hofstra |
D |
Grad. |
Civitavecchia, Italy |
| Trey Smiley |
UNCW |
GK |
R-Jr. |
Lynden, Wash. |
Honorable Mentions: Stian Bendvold, M, Charleston; Jasen Bottini, F, Monmouth; Bryan Miralrio, F, UNCW; Gavin Carmichael, D, UNCW; Raul Garcia, D, Monmouth; Lennon Gill, F, Charleston;
Ben Madore, M, Elon; Herman Johnsen, GK, Monmouth; Xander Martin, M, Campbell; Ethan Kang, M, Northeastern; Tiago Lima-Bittencourt, F, Drexel; Julian Pittaoulis, D, Drexel; Jaden Prado, D, Northeastern; Thor Sigurjonsson, M, William & Mary; Damian Taraska, D, Monmouth; Dan Toulson, D, Charleston
