WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State is predicted to finish second in the Lone Star Conference according to the 2026 preseason poll released on Wednesday.  The Mustangs earned two first-place votes and 583 points from LSC head coaches, sports information directors and media members.

Sophomore forward Morgan Countryman, sophomore defender Bella Rose and sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Short were selected as LSC Preseason Players to Watch.

Midwestern State made its second straight NCAA postseason appearance and eighth overall last season, suffering a 1-0 loss to UCCS.

The Mustangs finished the 2025 campaign with an overall record of 11-3-6, including a 10-0-4 mark in the LSC, which includes a 2-0 victory at No. 1-ranked Dallas Baptist in the regular season finale. Midwestern State was 7-0-1 at home, extending its unbeaten streak at Stang Park to 20 matches.

Dallas Baptist is the last visiting team to win on the Mustangs home ground — a 3-1 victory in October of 2023 — and the Patriots are the preseason favorite to win the LSC regular season title in 2026. DBU totaled 662 points and collected 38 of the possible 45 first-place votes. The Patriots were 20-2-0 last season with a 12-1-0 record in conference matches. DBU won its sixth LSC regular season title, fourth LSC tournament crown.

Texas Woman's is picked to finish third with 581 points and three first-place votes. The Pioneers finished 16-4-3 overall and 9-2-3 in LSC action in 2025. They reached the LSC title match and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. 

UT Dallas is picked fourth with 556 points and one first-place vote. The Comets went 12-3-3 overall and 9-3-2 in LSC play last year. UT Tyler is fifth with 459 points, followed by St. Mary's (443 points), five-time LSC champion Angelo State (434 points) and St. Edward's (338 points) to round out what would be the potential eight qualifiers for the LSC tournament. StMU picked up the final first-place vote.

Lubbock Christian is in ninth place with 336 points and eight-time LSC champion West Texas A&M completes the top 10 with 266 points. Oklahoma Christian is 11th with 240 points, followed by Texas A&M International (194 points), UT Permian Basin (146 points) Sul Ross State (97 points) and Eastern New Mexico (63 points). 

Midwestern State is a four-time regular-season conference champion and is seeking its first title since 2013.

Countryman, one of 15 Preseason Offensive Players to Watch in the LSC, started all 20 games as a freshman and finished the season with two goals and three assists. The native of Rockwall, Texas, put nine of 28 shots on goal last season and scored twice in a 2-1 victory over UT Permian Basin. Countryman was third-team All-Conference and made the LSC All-Freshman Team last year.

Rose, who is from Wichita Falls, is one of the 15 Preseason Defensive Players to Watch. She was the LSC Defensive Player of the Week following the Mustangs victory at DBU last season and was second team All-Conference in 2025. Rose was named to the LSC All-Freshman Team as well as the LSC All-Tournament team after starting all 20 matches and playing 1,773 minutes in the Maroon and Gold last fall.

Short, who was LSC Goalkeeper of the Week after posting a clean sheet against the top-ranked Patriots, is one of the 12 Goalkeepers to watch, was third team All-Conference after starting 10 games and appearing in 12 for the Mustangs last season. Short, a product of Frisco, Texas, was part of three combined shutouts and had three shutouts in 90-minute performances against Angelo State, DBU and St. Edward's. She finished the campaign with a 0.83 goals-against average and stopped 72 percent of the shots she faced while in goal for the Mustangs.

Head coach Ryan Spence begins his ninth season at the helm of the program as Midwestern State kicks off the season at Oklahoma Baptist on Aug. 27 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. MSU makes its first appearance at home on Aug. 30 for a 1 p.m. match against Ouachita Baptist.

The Mustangs are coming off a fourth consecutive appearance in the LSC Women's Soccer Championship, and this year's eight-team tournament will be held Oct. 30 (first round), Nov. 2 (quarterfinals), Nov. 5 (semifinals) and Nov. 8 (final). The first round and quarterfinal matches are played at the site of the higher seed. The semifinals and final rounds are hosted by the No. 1 seed.

The NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship is set for Dec. 3 and 5 at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

All LSC women's soccer regular season and tournament matches can be viewed live on FloCollege. Monthly, yearly and family subscriptions are available.