KJCCC coaches pick Butler to finish atop the conference

COLBY, Kansas – The 2023 KJCCC preseason soccer coaches poll was released on Monday, and the league's coaches voted Butler to finish in first in the poll.

Head coach Adam Hunter enters his 17th season leading the Butler soccer program, and the Grizzlies are coming off another successful season in 2022 that saw them finish 18-4-2. The squad captured their 13th KJCCC Conference Championship in program history while making a 10th trip to the NJCAA National Tournament.  The team was selected as an at-large invite to the tournament and were awarded the #3 seed. They ultimately bowed out in the second match of pool play with a 5-4 loss to Monroe.

Seven Grizzlies earned All-Region VI Honors in 2022 with a Region VI leading four first-team selections and three second team selections. 2022 also saw sophomore midfielder Brooklyn Hunter earn NJCAA Division 1 Women's Soccer Honorable Mention All-American Honors.  Seven different players also earned KJCCC honors, the most in the league.

Among others, Butler will return Brooke Sullivan off the 2022 team. Sullivan, a sophomore out of Goddard, started all 22 matches for the Grizzlies and scored 16 goals, second most on the team. She totaled 13 goals in regular season play which was good for fifth in the conference and 28th in the country. Her six game winning goals was fourth-most in the country.

2022 also saw the Grizzlies climb into the top four of the national polls following their 5-1 victory over the Dodge City Conquistadors in the opening round of the Region IV playoffs. It was their highest ranking since November 8th, 2016, when the Grizzlies were ranked second.

Barton was picked second with Hutchinson rounding out the top three.

Butler defeated Allen 4-1 in a preseason scrimmage on Monday night in El Dorado and will play one more home scrimmage, a bout with NCAA D2 Newman College on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. The season officially gets underway on Sunday when the Grizzlies travel to Seminole State for a 6 p.m. match that kicks off the regular season. The first home match is vs. Coffeyville on Wednesday, August 23 at 7 p.m.

The full D1 and D2 preseason polls can be found below.

D1

1. Butler
2. Barton
3. Hutchinson
4. Cowley
5. Coffeyville
6. Kansas City KS
7. Dodge City
8. Garden City
9. Seward County

 D2

1. Johnson County
2. Allen
3. Neosho County
4. Pratt
5. Hesston