Kyle Bjornethun (Snohomish, Wash.) represents the Redhawks, picked as the WAC’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year while Shane Haworth (Puyallup, Wash.) and Hamza Haddadi (Shoreline, Wash.) join Bjornethun on the 2015 Preseason All-WAC Team. Seattle U and UNLV led the league with three Preseason All-Conference honorees apiece.
Bjornethun receives Preseason All-WAC honors for the second straight year, also named First Team All-WAC and to the All-Tournament team in 2014. During his freshman campaign in 2013, he was named to the WAC All-Tournament team, Second Team All-Conference, and earned Freshman of the Year accolades. Last season, as a defender, Bjornethun tied for fourth in game-winning goals in the WAC.
Haworth led the league in shutouts, saves, and shutouts per game in 2014, ranking second in saves per game and third in save percentage. Haworth also received four WAC Defensive Player of the Week nods in 2014, his first season as the team’s starting keeper, and was named Second Team All-Conference.
Haddadi received NSCAA/Continental Tire Second Team All-West Region accolades in 2014, also named First Team All-Conference while leading the Redhawks in scoring and points. He was also named the Eddie O’Brien Male Student-Athlete of the Year at the athletics department’s annual Athletics Awards Show for 2014-15.
As a team, Seattle U received five first place votes and 92 total points to lead the preseason poll followed by reigning champion UNLV, who also received five first place votes and 86 total points. CSU Bakersfield rounded out the top three with 80 points, also grabbing a first place vote.
Utah Valley (4th – 71 points), San Jose State (5th – 66 points), Incarnate Word (T6th – 48 points), UMKC (T6th – 48 points), Grand Canyon (8th – 46 points), Air Force (9th – 36 points), Houston Baptist (10th – 19 points), and new squad UTRGV (11th – 13 points) rounded out the poll.
The Redhawks open the season with an exhibition at Portland this weekend (Aug. 22 – 7 pm) before starting the regular season at home vs. UC Davis (Friday, Aug. 28 – 7 pm) and Gonzaga (Sunday, Aug. 30 – 3 pm). Stay tuned to GoSeattleU.com for all the latest updates on the team throughout the 2015 campaign.
Preseason Men’s Soccer Coaches Poll
| Rank | Team (1st Place Votes) | Points |
| 1 | Seattle U (5) | 92 |
| 2 | UNLV (5) | 86 |
| 3 | CSU Bakersfield (1) | 80 |
| 4 | Utah Valley | 71 |
| 5 | San Jose State | 66 |
| T6 | Incarnate Word | 48 |
| T6 | UMKC | 48 |
| 8 | Grand Canyon | 46 |
| 9 | Air Force | 36 |
| 10 | Houston Baptist | 19 |
| 11 | UTRGV | 13 |
Preseason All-WAC Team
Julian Zamora, So., F, CSU Bakersfield
Hamza Haddadi, Sr., F, Seattle U
Rory Knibbs, Jr., F, San Jose State
Danny Musovski, So., F, UNLV
Christian Duarte, Sr., MF, CSU Bakersfield
Rodrigo Fuentes, Sr., MF, UNLV
Jonathan Colunga, So., MF, San Jose State
Kyle Bjornethun, Jr., D, Seattle U
Alex Neff, Jr., D, Utah Valley
Jason Khamvongsa, Sr., D, UNLV
Shane Haworth, Sr., GK, Seattle U
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Danny Musovski, UNLV
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Kyle Bjornethun, Seattle U