2016 Conference Previews: AAC, Big 12

by Will Parchman

August 11, 2016

American Athletic Conference

2015 Conference Honors:
Conference Tournament Champion: Cincinnati
Offensive Players of the Year: Carol Rodrigues (UCF), Rachel Hill (Connecticut)
Midfielder of the Year: Stephanie Ribero, Connecticut
Defensive Player of the Year: Jackie Simpson, South Florida
Goalkeeper of the Year: Emily Armstrong, Connecticut
Rookie of the Year: Marie Levasseur, Memphis
Coach of the Year: Len Tsantiris, Connecticut

Teams (2015 overall, conference record)
Connecticut (19-4-0, 8-1-0)
South Florida (15-4-3, 6-2-1)
UCF (12-6-2, 6-3-0)
Cincinnati (13-6-5, 5-3-1)
Tulsa (13-6-1, 4-4-1)
Temple (12-7-1, 4-4-1)
Memphis (8-8-3, 3-4-2)
East Carolina (8-10-2, 3-5-1)
SMU (5-10-3, 2-6-1)
Houston (4-13-0, 0-9-0)

If the rest of the AAC is waiting with baited breath for UConn to begin a rebuilding process to reset the order at the top, they’ll have to wait at least another year. The Huskies, in fact, are a real threat to advance deep in the NCAA tourney, let alone win the conference, on the back of their returning might. They are deep, to be sure, but UConn’s real strength is in its star power. Rachel Hill, a 2015 national player of the year semifinalist, might be the best player in the entire country in 2016 after scoring 16 goals last year. With 2015 AAC Midfielder of the Year Stephanie Ribero also returning for her senior year, not seeing UConn astride the AAC yet again this year would be a shock without equal in the country.

Even still, the AAC has made humongous strides in overall depth over the last few years, and it might be the most underrated women’s conference in the country on the strength it’s developed in its lower half in that time. That was never more obvious than when Cincinnati knocked off UConn and then won the conference tourney to elbow its way into the Big Dance. The Bearcats have been a huge success story over the past few years, and the return of junior leader Vanessa Gilles makes them one of the most staunch defensive teams in the league. With Jaycie Brown running the show in the middle, Cincinnati could be subtly scary in 2016.

The fight for positioning behind UConn looks a lot like a three-horse race between Cincinnati, South Florida and UCF, all of which are similarly talented. South Florida, which seemingly always has quality in the pipeline, is bouncing off a second-place finish in the league and a 15-win season. The loss of all-conference talents like defensive leader Jackie Simpson and midfielder Olivia Chance will assuredly sting, which could open the door for the Bearcats or Knights to rush in. There will be a fair amount of pressure on junior goalkeeper Katarina Elliot, who will battle with UConn’s Emily Armstrong for the title of the conference’s best keeper this season.

UCF looks scary on paper entering the year. The duo of Kayla Adamek and returning co-offensive player of the year Carol Rodrigues should wreck back lines all year. The emergence, too, of sophomore keeper Vera Varis as a freshman will give UCF some steel at the back it desperately needs.

Elsewhere, Memphis and Tulsa both look poised for quality years after taking strides in 2015. Memphis has a quality blend of young and old, and the forward duo of senior Valerie Sanderson and sophomore Marie Levasseur should cause even the league’s best defenses headaches. East Carolina could surprise some teams after an eight-win 2015 as Lana Spitler, one of the league’s most reliable scorers, returns for her senior campaign. Temple was quiet and steady as a dangerous mid-table team last season and should be so again in 2016. Without a single preseason all-conference star, the team is the central facet of a quality building story in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Big 12

2015 Conference Honors:
Conference Tournament Champion: Texas Tech
Offensive Player of the Year: Janine Beckie, Texas Tech
Defensive Player of the Year: Kadeisha Buchanan, West Virginia
Freshmen of the Year: Lauren Piercy (Baylor), Bianca St. Georges (West Virginia)
Coach of the Year: Nikki Izzo-Brown, West Virginia

Teams (2015 overall, conference record)
West Virginia (19-3-1, 6-0-1)
Baylor (9-6-4, 4-1-2)
Texas (8-6-4, 4-3-1)
Oklahoma (10-7-3, 3-2-3)
Texas Tech (14-4-5, 3-2-3)
Kansas (10-9-2, 3-4-1)
TCU (8-7-4, 2-3-3)
Oklahoma State (9-9-2, 2-4-2)
Iowa State (6-12-0, 0-8-0)

Ever since joining the Big 12 a few years ago, West Virginia’s been a bull in a china shop. The Mountaineers won an unprecedented fourth straight league title in 2015, advanced to their 16th straight NCAA tournament and became the first Big 12 squad to reach the Elite Eight in four years. And if teams were hoping they’d take a step back in 2016 to level the playing field for everyone else, don’t hold your breath. The unmatched Kadeisha Buchanan, the best defender in college soccer, returns as a senior anchor, and Ashley Lawrence and Michaela Abam are both back to decimate Big 12 back lines again. There are, in total, 18 letterwinners returning to this team in 2016. If we’re honest, the relevant question is not so much whether West Virginia will win the Big 12 for a fifth straight year, but by what margin.

Baylor’s exceedingly good end to last season should set the Bears up in good stead for another good year under Marci Jobson in 2016. After a choppy start Baylor finished the year 9-2-3 and came within shouting distance of West Virginia in the standings. The Bears continue to reel in some of the best quality from the loaded Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, as evidenced by the freshman year Lauren Piercy put together last season. Baylor landed four players on the all-freshman team in 2015, and youth will again be served for a team looking to get back to the NCAA tourney.

Perhaps the biggest question mark in the entire league is how Texas Tech plans to supplement the production it loses with the departure of Canadian international Janine Beckie. The capable goal-scorer leaves as the best player in Tech history and arguably the best player in the conference’s history. After a largely disappointing fifth-place conference run in the regular season, Tech rode her senior year to its first ever conference tourney title and a spot in the dance. Tech’s onus then will shift to its back line, which returns whole and features senior keeper Lauren Watson, who’s probably the best returning keeper in the league.

Texas and Oklahoma should be back in the race again this season. The Longhorns have to cope with the loss of Abby Smith, who staked a claim as perhaps the best keeper in all of college soccer in 2015. Like Baylor, Texas will be young but talented in a few key positions and will look toward underclassman names like Alexa Adams and Mikayla Flores for contributions. Oklahoma, for its part, will ask a lot out of defensive leader Rachel Ressler, who was second team all-conference last year. Maybe the most interesting facet is the introducion of Kansas State, which is fielding its first ever soccer team this fall. Expect hiccups, but it shouldn't be long before the Wildcats generate some steam. At the very least, the state has a built-in rivalry from the start.

Elsewhere, the league is still awaiting Oklahoma State’s return to relevance. The Cowgirls were once the envy of the Big 12, a run that culminated in 2011 with an Elite Eight appearance. It’s been a slow, steady decline since then, and West Virginia has since supplanted their former role as the bully on the block. Oklahoma State has a quality in the form of upperclassmen like Natalie Calhoun and Courtney Dike to help offset the loss of Allie Stephenson, but a .500 year and an eight-place finish in 2015 will take time to overturn. Kansas will need to find a replacement - probably by committee - for midfielder Liana Salazar. She ran the show for the Jayhawks and was one of the program’s all-time bests.

Related Topics: American Athletic, Atlantic Coast, Big 12, SEC