The TDS College Soccer preview continues with a glance into the American Athletic, Ivy League, and Western Athletic women’s soccer conferences.

American Athletic Conference Preview

The AAC is practically a brand new conference, with three teams leaving and six new ones joining. The mass change means the league will now be split into East and West divisions to manage travel and scheduling demands. Amid all the changes, SMU is a team to highlight, as head coach Nicole Nelson has put together an impressive 25th-ranked recruiting class founded in some of the best in-state talent. It gives SMU a massive leg-up over their rivals as a team that could dominate the new-look AAC for years. Standing in the way is Memphis, who won the conference tournament and carried that momentum to the third round of the NCAA tournament.

*UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston leave for the Big 12.
*Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA join.

Top Freshmen to Watch:

Treasure & Truth Byars, SMU ((#41 & 43 Ranked TDS Class of 2023)

Anna Hauer, Memphis (Canadian U17 International)

Brenna Rowlett, Tulsa (#12 Ranked TDS South Region)

Jada Silvest, South Florida (#16 Ranked TDS Florida Region)

Sophie Zhang, Rice (#7 Ranked TDS Pacific Northwest Region)

Top Players to Watch:

Mya Jones, Memphis

Jazmin Ferguson, East Carolina

Vivianne Bessette, South Florida

Julia Patrum, Charlotte

Peyton Annen, SMU

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Ivy League Preview

While Brown and Harvard have set themselves apart as the gold standard of the conference, Coach of the Year Sarah Martinez will have her Yale team ready to compete, and Dartmouth just hired one of the best young coaches in college soccer in Taylor Schram. For next season though, Brown has to be the favorite to repeat as conference champions returning the dynamic attacking duo of Brittany Raphino and Ava Seelenfreund.

Top Freshmen to Watch:

Ólöf Kristinsdóttir, Harvard (Iceland National Team)

Audrey Lam, Brown (#31 Ranked TDS Class of 2023)

Kayla Wong, Princeton (#62 Ranked TDS Class of 2023)

Andie Miller, Yale (#95 Ranked TDS Class of 2023)

Samantha Weiss, Columbia (#99 Ranked TDS Class of 2023)

Top Players to Watch:

Brittany Raphino, Brown

Hannah Bebar, Harvard

Pietra Tordin, Princeton

Courtney Ruedt, Columbia

Laila Booker, Yale

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Western Athletic Conference Preview

Between the high-flying Utah Valley, Seattle, and Grand Canyon offenses, who each scored 40+ goals, the WAC is one of the most entertaining conferences in college soccer. It is also home to some highly underrated talents and coaches, such as Faith Webber, a JUCO transfer who hit the league by storm for Utah Valley, and Chris Cissell, who turned around the GCU program within a few seasons. The WAC goes through even more changes this season as New Mexico State and Sam Houston leave. But Utah Valley returns as regular season champions fresh off receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.

*New Mexico State and Sam Houston leave for C-USA

Top Freshmen to Watch:

Ava Shannon, Stephen F. Austin (#126 Ranked TDS Class of 2023)

Imani Newby, Seattle

Nixan Jackson, Utah Valley

Madison Hamm, Grand Canyon (#27 Ranked TDS Northern California & Hawaii region)

Skylar Cano, Utah Tech

Top Players to Watch:

Gianna Gourley, GCU

Faith Webber, Utah Valley

Noa Schumacher, California Baptist

Karli Nyland, Utah Tech

Kait Raffensperger, Seattle