The Big Ten will again be one of the most-watched men’s college soccer conferences this season, and Indiana will again be a favorite of many prognosticators.

But to finish the discussion with the Hoosiers would be greatly premature, as there is no shortage of challengers in this year’s title race, not the least of which is defending regular season and tournament champion Northwestern. Read on for a look at the prospects for each team in the league.

Brief conference bio: Big Ten

2011 League Champions: Northwestern
2011 Big Ten Tournament Champions: Northwestern
Offensive Player of the Year: Chris  Hegngi, Ohio State
Freshman of the Year: Eriq Zavaleta, Indiana
Defensive Player of the Year, Tyler Miller, Northwestern
Coach of the Year: Tim Lenahan, Northwestern

Team (overall/conference record)

Northwestern (11-5-5/4-0-2)

Tim Lenahan’s Wildcats had an excellent regular season in 2011, sweeping conference honors before being matched against Akron in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in a cost-saving move by the NCAA.

This season the Wildcats return a number of starters, including top goalkeeper Tyler Miller, midfielders Chris Ritter, Lepe Seetane, Layth Masri and Kyle Schickel, defender Nikko Boxall and forwards Nick Gendron and Reed Losee. Expect another strong title challenge for the Wildcats.

Ohio State (10-7-2/4-2-0)

John Bluem’s Buckeyes felt hard done by to not be selected to the NCAA Tournament last season. Standout goalkeeper Matt Lampson and defensive juggernaut David Tiemstra departs, but leading scorer Chris Hegngi (9 goals) is back, as are starters Sebastian Rivas, Sage Gardner, Kenny Cunningham, Ben Killian and Brady Wahl.

Wisconsin (10-8-2/4-2-0)

John Trask’s Badgers were another Big Ten team that has a credible argument for being included in the NCAA Tournament. Nearly every leading player from that group returns. Leading scorer Tomislav Zadro is back along with U20 MNT player AJ Cochran, David Caban, Nick Janus, Joey Tennyson, Trevor Wheeler, Chris Prince and Blake Succa.

Indiana (13-4-5/3-1-2)

Todd Yeagley’s Hoosiers were good last year, but the former MLS player wants the team to be Indiana good, as in 7 national titles, 14 Big Ten championships and 11 Big Ten Tourney wins.

Freshman of the Year and team leading scorer Eriq Zavaleta is back to lead the front line. He will be relying on service from midfielders Harrison Petts,  Nikita Kotlov, A.J. Corrado, Karel Bradford and Jacob Bushue. Also back are defenders Jamie Vollmer, Caleb Konstanski and Matt McKain, plus goalkeeper Luis Soffner.

Michigan State (7-8-4/2-2-2)

Damon Rensing’s Spartans finished just below .500 last season despite only giving up a goal per game. The offense will need to improve for the team’s fortunes to climb in 2012.

Rubin Bega and Cyrus Saydee are gone from the attack, but Adam Montague and Domenic Barone are back. Ryan Keener, Wesley Curtis, Fatai Alashe and Cody Henderson are other key returnees, while Luke Norman is a key addition transferring in from Wakke Forest.

Michigan (5-14-1/1-5-0)

New Coach Chaka Daley has his hands full in Ann Arbor. He inherits a team that won just 5 games and was outscored 2:1 on the season

Penn State(9-9-4/0-6-0)

Bob Warming’s Nittany Lions went through 2011 with a short roster, and 7 new freshmen this season should help the team’s fortunes. Minh Vu, Jordan Tyler and Hasani Sinclair will be some of the leading returnees.