RICHARDSON, Texas -- Raul Torrez was selected as the ASC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and the LeTourneau men's soccer team was picked sixth in the conference's annual preseason poll.

The conference's head coaches and sports information directors voted on the preseason poll and the players of the year.

Torrez, a senior goalkeeper from Longview, Texas, earned Goalkeeper of the Year and first team All-ASC honors in 2022 after helping to lead the YellowJackets to the ASC Tournament championship round. He made 14 starts and logged over 1243 minutes while making 78 saves with a .804 saves percentage, which led the ASC. Torrez ranked third in the ASC with four shutouts and was also third in the conference in saves, while allowing the fewest goals (19) and second in goals against average with a 1.38-clip. He made double-digit saves in all three ASC Tournament matches -- with a career-high 12 against Mary Hardin-Baylor in the title match -- and came up with clutch saves in two penalty shootouts as the YellowJackets advanced.

Torrez was the first player in program history to earn ASC Goalkeeper of the Year accolades.

LeTourneau was picked sixth in the poll, a spot where the YellowJackets finished last season before making a run to the ASC Tournament championship match. Under second-year head coach Brady Van Holland, the YellowJackets picked up 72 total points in the poll.

Bridger Roberdeau and Emad Mohamed were also named to the ASC Players to Watch List.

Roberdeau, a junior from Spearfish, S.D., was a key part of a defense that had a conference-high-tying seven shutouts on the year. He started all 20 matches and earned CSC Academic All-District honors. 

A senior from Irving, Texas, Mohamed earned All-ASC second team last season. A mainstay in the midfield, Mohamed started all 20 matches and averaged 84 minutes per contest. He dished out a team-high-tying three assists on the year.

Defending conference champion Mary Hardin-Baylor was selected as the preseason favorite with 10 first-place votes. Concordia Texas notched four first-place tallies to finish second, while UT Dallas and Hardin-Simmons each received a first-place vote and are third and fourth, respectively.

LeTourneau opens the season at home against Dallas on Sept. 1 (7 p.m.).

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