Larsson, Nikolai Tabbed to Preseason All-Sun Belt Team

NEW ORLEANS – James Madison junior Kevin Larsson and sophomore Luca Nikolai were tabbed to the 2024 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Team, the league announced on Wednesday afternoon.

In a vote of the 10 head coaches in the Sun Belt, the Dukes were picked to finish fifth in the league with a total of 106 points. Defending league champion Marshall was picked as the favorite, receiving eight first-place votes to tally 138 points. A College Cup participant from a season ago, West Virginia received the two other first-place votes and collected 132 points. UCF was picked third with 111 points and Kentucky followed by edging out JMU by two points for fourth with 108 points.

Larsson represents JMU's second leading point scoring returner, finishing last season with 16 points and All-Sun Belt Second Team honors. The midfielder tallied five goals and six assists, finishing fourth and tied for first on the team, respectively. The Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland native was tied for fifth in the league in assists, as he played in all 20 matches last season with 19 starts.

Named a Freshman All-American by TopDrawerSoccer and College Soccer News, Nikolai was listed as one of the four defenders on the preseason team. The Kaarst, Germany native earned All-Sun Belt First Team honors last season, being the lone freshman on the first team. He started all 20 games, finishing with a goal and four assists for six points on the offensive side of the ball, while aiding a backline defensively that recorded five shutouts and held opponents to 1.20 goals per game. TopDrawerSoccer ranked him sixth in its Postseason Freshman Top 100 list at the end of the season.

2024 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Preseason Awards

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year:
Marcus Calderia, West Virginia (Jr., F, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada)

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year:
Anderson Rosa, UCF (5^th yr., D, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil)

Preseason All-Sun Belt Team
F – Marcus Calderia, West Virginia (Jr., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada)
F – Lucca Dourado, UCF (5^th Yr., Sao Paulo, Brazil)
F – Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos, Marshall (Sr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
F – Isaiah Chisholm, Kentucky (So., Yorktown, Va)
M – Kevin Larsson, JMU (Jr., Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland)
M – Taimu Okiyoshi, Marshall (5^th Yr., Kobe, Japan)
M – Ryan Baer, West Virginia (Gr., Hunterville, N.C.)
M – Marco Silva, Marshall (R-So., Coopersburg, Pa)
D – Anderson Rosa, UCF (5^th Yr., Salvador, Bahia, Brazil)
D – Luca Nikolai, JMU (So., Kaarst, Germany)
D – Frederik Jorgensen, West Virginia (Sr., Aarhus, Denmark)
D – Max Broughton, West Virginia (Gr., Rawtenstall, England)
GK – Mols Casper, Kentucky (So., Aabenraa, Denmark)
*Ties were not broken.

2024 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll

1. Marshall (8) – 138
2. West Virginia (2) – 132
3. UCF - 111
4. Kentucky - 108
5. JMU - 106
6. South Carolina - 83
7. Georgia State - 80
8. Old Dominion - 70
9. Coastal Carolina - 62
10. Georgia Southern - 60
Parentheses indicate first-place votes

Calendar

Players Mentioned

Kevin Larsson

Luca Nikolai

JMU Footer

Scoreboard

Calendar

Completed Event: Men's Soccer versus Fordham on August 21, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 1

Completed Event: Men's Soccer versus Gardner-Webb on August 24, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 1

Completed Event: Men's Soccer versus Rutgers on August 29, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 4

Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer at Georgetown on September 9, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer at Liberty on September 13, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer at West Virginia on September 19, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer versus Iona on September 23, 2025 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer versus South Carolina on September 28, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer at Kentucky on October 4, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer at Georgia State on October 10, 2025 at 7 p.m.

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