Soccer (Football)
15 top colleges for men’s soccer in the US
Collegiate soccer is a highly competitive landscape where some of the top prospects in the world face each other.
Before Red Bulls defender Aaron Long was selected for the 2022 World Cup, he was a four-year starter at the University of California Riverside, scoring 13 goals and recording five assists.
“I remember when he was a freshman in our program and the amount of potential he had... Since he’s gotten to the pros he’s had this steady journey,” UC Riverside coach Tim Cupello said. “It’s awesome for him and obviously a huge honor for our program as well.”
In the United States, collegiate soccer is a great developing ground for many players. You get to play against some of the best young prospects in the nation and develop under top-tier coaching without the added pressure of being a professional.
15 Top Colleges for Men’s Soccer in the U.S.
Eight players on the U.S. Men’s National Team World Cup roster played collegiate soccer before starting their professional careers. If you’re curious about which are the best collegiate men’s soccer programs in the United States, here are some of the top colleges.
NCAA soccer ball
© Photo by Duffy Brook on Unsplash
01
University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Indiana)
Notre Dame has excelled in several sports–men’s soccer being just one of them. The Fighting Irish have made 20 appearances in the NCAA Division I men’s soccer tournament, winning the tournament in 2013. In addition to its national championship win, Notre Dame has four additional quarter-final appearances and one additional semi-final appearance. Former New York Red Bulls defender Kevin Goldthwaite played his collegiate soccer here.
02
UCLA (Los Angeles, California)
UCLA’s soccer program isn’t just one of the best programs on the West Coast; it’s one of the best programs in the nation. Based in beautiful Los Angeles, the Bruins have made nine championship appearances--winning four of them. Along with supreme talent, UCLA’s program has also benefited from great coaching with the likes of former U.S. national Jorge Salcedo and longtime MLS manager Sigi Schmid. Notable alumni include New York Red Bulls midfielder Frankie Amaya and MLS record-holding goalkeeper Nick Rimando.
03
Stanford University (Stanford, California)
Another prominent West Coast program, less than six hours up the road from UCLA is Stanford. The program really hit its stride in recent seasons, winning three consecutive national championships from 2015 to 2017. The Cardinals are one of only two programs that can make that claim. Stanford has also made four additional semifinal appearances. Prominent players from this program include New York Red Bulls forward Zach Ryan and U.S. international Jordan Morris.
04
University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
The University of North Carolina’s men’s soccer program has also accomplished a rare feat of its own. When the Tar Heels won their second national championship back in 2011, they did so with a first-year head coach in Carlos Somoano, making them just the second team to do so. U.S. men’s national team manager Gregg Berhalter and former U.S. international Eddie Pope played college soccer here.
05
Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
Less than 90 minutes away from UNC is Wake Forest, where the Demon Deacons have been establishing their own system of success. Since 2001, Wake Forest has only missed the NCAA men’s soccer tournament once, winning a national championship in 2007 and finishing as runner-up in 2016. Prominent alumni include Leeds United midfielder Jack Harrison and New York Red Bulls midfielder Omir Fernandez.
06
Indiana University (Bloomington, Indiana)
A list of the most successful collegiate men’s soccer programs would not be complete without Indiana University. Since the program started in 1973, no other program has more national championship victories than the Hoosiers’ eight, with their most recent win coming in 2012. Indiana is also the only other program to win a national championship with a first-year head coach, winning the title in Mike Freitag’s first season back in 2004.
IU has the longest active streak of consecutive qualifications for the NCAA Division I men’s soccer tournament at 36, having made every tournament since 1987. Alumni include New York Red Bulls defender Andrew Gutman and Salvadorian international Eriq Zavaleta.
07
Syracuse University (Syracuse, New York)
Syracuse is another program that has really found its stride. The Orange have made seven NCAA men’s soccer tournament appearances in the past eleven seasons, including a run to the semifinals in 2015. This is an impressive feat for a program that had only qualified for the tournament once in the previous 53 seasons. U.S. international Miles Robinson played for the Orange for two seasons.
08
Clemson University (Clemson, South Carolina)
The defending Division I men’s soccer tournament champions, Clemson has risen back to prominence over the past several years. The Tigers have won three national championships and have missed the national tournament just once since 2013. The Tigers went on a similar run back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, missing the national tournament just twice between 1972 and 1987. Clemson won two national championships in that span. Former MLS goalkeeper Joe Bendik and New England Revolution midfielder Tommy McNamara played for the Tigers.
09
University of Louisville (Louisville, Kentucky)
Even though the program was started in 1979, Louisville didn’t qualify for its first NCAA men’s soccer tournament until 2007. Since then, the Cardinals have only missed one tournament, making the quarter-finals four times including a national championship appearance back in 2010. Columbus Crew midfielder Marlon Hairston played his collegiate soccer for the Cardinals.
10
University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia)
Of all of the prominent ACC programs that we’ve gone over so far (Notre Dame, UNC, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Clemson, Louisville), Virginia is likely the best program out of all of them. Virginia ranks second among Division I programs with seven national championship victories along with two additional national championship appearances.
The Cavaliers also qualified for the NCAA men’s soccer tournament every year from 1981 to 2019. Notable alumni include Daryl Dike and former New York Red Bulls midfielder Claudio Reyna.
11
St. Louis University (St. Louis, Missouri)
If you want to talk about college soccer powerhouses, no team was more dominant in its earlier years than St. Louis. From the first year of the NCAA Division I men’s soccer tournament in 1959 to 1974, the Billikens won 10 national championships and finished as runners-up three additional times.
St. Louis has since fallen behind other better-funded conferences and programs. However, that hasn’t stopped the program from producing talented players like Tim Ream and Brian McBride over the past several years. St. Louis has played in the most NCAA Division I men’s soccer tournaments, having qualified for the competition 50 times.
12
University of Akron (Akron, Ohio)
Amid the tall trees of large programs and even more powerful conferences, smaller schools from smaller conferences manage to steal away the spotlight and even a national championship or two from the blue bloods and perennial powerhouses. Akron is one of those schools. The Zips won the national championship back in 2010 and made three additional championship appearances. Prominent players that went here include U.S. internationals DeAndre Yedlin and Wil Trapp.
13
Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.)
Another late bloomer, Georgetown’s men’s soccer program was founded in 1959, but the Hoyas didn’t make their first tournament appearance until 1994 and didn’t clinch consecutive berths until 2012-2013. However, over the past few seasons, Georgetown have begun to establish themselves as one of the top programs in the nation, winning a national championship in 2019 and finishing as runner-up in 2012. Former New York Red Bull Alex Muyl spent his collegiate career with the Hoyas.
14
University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland)
A short metro ride away from Georgetown, Maryland has established itself as one of the most consistently dominant programs in the country. With head coach Sasho Cirovski leading the program since 1993, the Terrapins have only missed the tournament twice in his tenure. During that span, they have won three national championships with an additional championship appearance and nine total semifinal appearances. U.S. international goalkeeper Zack Steffen played two seasons with the Terrapins before going pro.
15
University of Washington (Seattle, Washington)
Under the coaching of former Scottish professional Jamie Clark, Washington is currently in its most successful stretch in program history. The Huskies made a national championship appearance in 2021, made it to the quarterfinals each of the past three seasons, and have only failed to qualify for the national tournament once since 2012. U.S. international Cristian Roldan played his collegiate soccer for the Huskies.
Conclusion
In the past 20 seasons, every national championship has included at least one of the schools listed here, and all but one of these programs qualified for this year’s NCAA Division I men’s soccer tournament. However, this isn’t all there is to see in the world of collegiate men’s soccer. Navy, the alma mater of Red Bulls defender Matt Nocita, was one of the most dominant programs in the 1960s and 1970s, while former New York Red Bulls and RB Salzburg manager Jesse Marsch played his college soccer at Princeton University.