Butler Soccer checks in at No. 8 in the NJCAA Division I Top 20 Preseason Poll, which was released Monday afternoon by the NJCAA National Office.
The Grizzlies start the year one spot higher than they finished last season coming in at No. 8. This marks the ninth consecutive season Butler has been ranked in the NJCAA preseason poll, as well as being ranked in the Preseason Top 10 in eight of the last nine years.
The Top 10 preseason ranking comes after the Grizzlies made their seventh trip to nationals while tacking on their 11th Jayhawk Conference title and a Plains District Championship in 2018. The Grizzlies finished last season 18-6 overall and 11-1 in KJCCC play.
Coach Adam Hunter and the squad will open the season at home on Thursday, August 22 at 7:00 p.m. as they play host to Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa.
Butler will face three ranked opponents early in the season, beginning with an Aug. 25 matchup in Ada, Okla., against 19th-ranked Hill, Texas. The Grizzlies defeated Hill in last year's Plains District title, allowing Butler to clinch the automatic bid to the NJCAA National Tournament. Butler will follow up the Hill game with a pair of matches against two national tournament qualifiers from last season over Labor Day weekend at Wichita's Stryker Complex. The Grizzlies will play No. 4 Eastern Florida State on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m., then face No. 7 Lewis & Clark, Ill., on Monday, Sept. 2 in a 9:00 a.m. contest.
Butler is the lone Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference school to find themselves inside the Top 20 while Barton, who won the Jayhawk West title last season, is receiving votes.
| 2019 NJCAA PRESEASON TOP 20 SOCCER POLL | |||
| Aug. 19, 2019 | |||
| Rank | Team | Points | 2018 Record |
| 1. | Monroe College, N.Y. (7) | 140 | 16-0-1 |
| 2. | Tyler, Texas | 133 | 23-2-1 |
| 3. | Iowa Western | 126 | 16-3-1 |
| 4. | Eastern Florida State | 119 | 16-3-1 |
| 5. | Navarro, Texas | 114 | 15-2-2 |
| 6. | Monroe CC, N.Y. | 102 | 15-5-0 |
| 7. | Lewis & Clark, Ill. | 97 | 19-1-0 |
| 8. | Butler | 91 | 18-6-0 |
| 9. | Daytona State, Fla. | 82 | 11-5-0 |
| 10. | Laramie County, Wyo. | 70 | 12-7-0 |
| 11. | Paradise Valley, Ariz. | 67 | 19-6-1 |
| 12. | Arizona Western | 64 | 21-3-0 |
| 13. | Salt Lake, Utah | 56 | 13-2-2 |
| 14. | Jones, Miss. | 51 | 14-3-0 |
| 15. | Moraine Valley, Ill. | 37 | 19-3-1 |
| 16. | Cape Fear, N.C. | 32 | 16-2-1 |
| 17. | Snow, Utah | 24 | 14-2-1 |
| 18. | Phoenix, Ariz. | 21 | 17-3-1 |
| 19. | Hill, Texas | 17 | 13-2-0 |
| 20. | Spartanburg Methodist, S.C. | 4 | 13-4-3 |
Other schools receiving votes: Barton (15-4-1); Southwestern Illinois (16-6-2).
| BUTLER SOCCER - PRESEASON RANKINGS | |
| 2002 - 2019 | |
| Year | Preseason Rank |
| 2019 | 8 |
| 2018 | 12 |
| 2017 | 7 |
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2015 | 6 |
| 2014 | 3 |
| 2013 | 5 |
| 2012 | 5 |
| 2011 | 11 |
| 2010 | NR |
| 2009 | 14 |
| 2008 | NR |
| 2007 | NR |
| 2006 | 15 |
| 2005 | 13 |
| 2004 | NR |
| 2003 | NR |
| 2002 | NR |
