Makel Rasheed Named to Preseason All-BIG EAST Team

NEW YORK - The BIG EAST Conference announced its men's soccer preseason poll on Tuesday afternoon. The poll was voted on by conference head coaches.

Xavier was picked to finish fourth in the Midwest Division after posting a 9-2-7 (3-1-6 BIG EAST) record last season. The Musketeers are led by second-year head coach John Higgins.

Makel Rasheed was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team after helping the Musketeers post a 0.89 goals against average and eight shutouts last season. The defender was drafted by Nashville SC in MLS SuperDraft 2023 presented by adidas, taken as the seventh pick (65th overall) in the third round. Rasheed also earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors and was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region Team.

BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL

EAST DIVISION
(first-place votes)
1. Georgetown (11) - 66
2. Providence (1) - 56
3. St. John's - 40
4. Seton Hall - 36
5. Connecticut - 24
5. Villanova - 24

MIDWEST DIVISION
(first-place votes)
1. Creighton (8) - 63
2. Butler (2) - 50
3. Akron (2) - 48
4. Xavier - 39
5. Marquette - 29
6. DePaul - 17

Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Palmer Ault, So., F, Butler

Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Kenny Nielsen, Sr., D, Georgetown

Preseason BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Ryan Schewe, Sr., GK, Georgetown

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Ryan Schewe, Sr., GK, Georgetown
Kenny Nielsen, Sr., D, Georgetown
Kieran Sargeant, Jr., D, Georgetown
Makel Rasheed, Sr., D, Xavier
Jackson Castro, Jr., M, Creighton
Giorgio Probo, Sr., M, Creighton
Luis Garcia, Grad., M, Providence
Dyson Clapier, So., F, Akron
Palmer Ault, So., F, Butler *
Marlon Tabora, Sr., F, Georgetown
Gevork Diarbian, Sr., F, Providence

*unanimous selection

XU SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier will play two exhibition matches. The Musketeers travel to Western Michigan on Aug. 13 and play host to Bellarmine on Aug. 18.

• Xavier will play seven non-conference matches, four at home and three on the road. The Musketeers open the home portion of their schedule vs Wright State on Thursday, Aug. 24. Xavier also plays home non-conference matches vs Oakland (Aug. 27), Cleveland State (Sept. 4) and Bradley (Sept. 10).

• Xavier's remaining non-conference road matches are at Marshall (Sept. 1), Duquesne (Sept. 19) and Ohio State (Oct. 3).

• The Musketeers open BIG EAST action vs DePaul on Friday, Sept. 15 at Corcoran Field. Xavier's other three home BIG EAST contests are vs Georgetown (Sept. 23), Akron (Oct. 14) and Butler (Oct. 18).

• Xavier's four BIG EAST road matches are at Creighton (Sept. 29), Marquette (Oct. 7), Villanova (Oct. 21) and UConn (Oct. 28).

• Xavier will face six teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last season, including College Cup participant Creighton. Cleveland State, Ohio State, Marshall, Georgetown and Seton Hall all joined the Bluejays in the NCAA Tournament. The Musketeers also take on Western Michigan who participated in the NCAA Tournament during exhibition play.

AKRON JOINS THE BIG EAST

• The BIG EAST announced Akron as an affiliate member for men's soccer on Nov. 16.

• The BIG EAST Conference will develop a pair of six team divisions and construct divisional scheduling. The East Division will consist of Connecticut, Georgetown, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova. The Midwest Division will include Akron, Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Marquette and Xavier. Each team will play all five divisional members once, in addition to three cross-over matches each year. Overall, the league will transition from a 10-match conference season to eight matches.

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

• Xavier returns two of its top three point leaders from last season, led by Fabrizio Bernal De La Garza who had nine points (four goals, one assist). Jerome Jolly added eight points (three goals, two assists).

• Defensively, Xavier returns Makel Rasheed and Dylan Kropp. Both players helped the Musketeers post a 0.89 goals against average (23rd in NCAA) with eight shutouts (10th in NCAA). Xavier finished the year ranked tied for fourth in single-season school history in shutouts (8) and fourth in single-season school history in goals against average (0.89).

• Makel Rasheed was drafted by Nashville SC in MLS SuperDraft 2023 presented by adidas, taken as the seventh pick (65th overall) in the third round. Rasheed also earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors and was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region Team.

• Dylan Kropp was named to the All-BIG EAST Third Team, one of only three freshmen who picked up all-conference honors. He was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI First Team.

• Xavier added 12 newcomers to the roster, including four transfers: Cooper Forcellini (Bellarmine) Michael Rogalski (Bradley), Matthew Senanou (North Carolina) and Guilherme Vivaldini (North Carolina).

COACH HIGGINS

• John Higgins was named the new men's soccer coach in March of 2022. He joined the Musketeers from the University of Indianapolis where he compiled a 150-56-29 overall record in 12 seasons with the Greyhounds. He now has a 159-58-36 overall record in 13 seasons as a head coach.

• In year one at Xavier, he led the Musketeers to a No. 9 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches (USC) Poll on Oct. 19 - matching the highest ranking in program history (was also ranked No. 9 on Oct. 28, 2014).

• Higgins also saw two players taken in the MLS SuperDraft 2023 presented by adidas. Xavier had two players taken in the same draft for the first time in program history. Cole Jensen was the 18th overall pick (first round), while Makel Rasheed was taken as the seventh pick in the third round (65th overall). Three player also earned All-BIG EAST honors, highlighted by Jenen who was named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year.

• Higgins finished the 2021 fall season ranked fourth in the USC Top-25 Poll after posting an 18-1-3 record and advancing to the semifinals of the NCAA Championships. All told, he posted a 31-1-7 record over two seasons in 2021 (spring season due to COVID-19 pandemic).

• The three-time Great Lakes Valley Conference 'Coach of the Year' owns a 7-3-1 (.625) record in NCAA Tournament action and finished GLVC Tournament play with an 18-3-5 (.750) mark. He finished his coaching career at UIndy as the program's all-time leader in wins (150) and winning percentage (.700).

• Higgins led the Greyhounds to a total of six conference championships from 2010-21, including three regular-season titles and three tournament championships. All told, he has made five NCAA Tournaments with two national semifinal appearances.

• The Dunfermline, United Kingdom, native coached 54 All-GLVC selections at UIndy along with seven All-Midwest Region honorees and two All-Americans. Academically, the Greyhounds have earned the USC Team Academic Award in each season under Higgins.

Schedule

Upcoming Events