In the middle of the country the game has no problem drawing players or fans. Mid-major conferences like The Horizon and Summit leagues have shown they are more than capable of producing teams ready to challenge the big boys on the men’s side. This season will be no different.

Horizon League

Wisconsin Green Bay(w) is the odds-on favorite to do the most damage coming out of the Horizon this season. JC Banks is a great professional prospect and will be more than a handful for all rivals in the league. The Phoenix also have strong support in David Prochazka, Tony Walls and goalkeeper Ryan Wehking.

UIC(w) loses coach John Trask to Wisconsin but will return top players like Ivan Stanisavlijevic and Josh Beard. Cleveland State looks forward to another year of maturation from Admir Suljevic and Aaron Adkins.

Butler also reached NCAA play last year. Kelly Findley has a strong squad returning including Matt Hedges, Julio Cardona, Connor Burt and Fabian Knopfler. Valparaiso has all-league goalkeeper Ryan Schwarz back along with Stefan Antonijevic and Jaymie Bullard.

Wright State won 6 games last season for Bryan Davis. The Raiders have Brad Bamberger back in defense and welcome in a large and promising freshman class.  Chris Whalley takes the helm at Wisconsin-Milwaukee after posting a great winning percentage over 5 years at Mercyhurst. The Panthers need some of that as they won just 3 games last season.

Willie Koss is back for Brendan Eitz’s Loyola(w) Ramblers as the squad attempts to improve on a 4-win season in 2009. Nick Deren begins his first full year as coach at Detroit and will be hoping for more performances like the 5-point effort Nate Robinson turned in for the season finale in an otherwise tough 5-12-1 campaign.

Summit League

Regular season champions Oakland should be strong again for Coach Eric Pogue. Goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt was the Defensive Player of the Year, while Makesi Lewis, Vuk Popovic and James Leutzinger will be key returnees in the outfield.

John Bayron Sosa is a vita offensive cog for UMKC(w), with David Sarabia and Tom Black also back for the Kangaroos. Raphael Martinez anchors the defense for IPFW(m), while Donovan Dowling returns in goal and Lindon Qaflashie is in midfield.

At IUPUI(w), Yogi Snider and Nate Ohmer will be back on the field, while Kalen Ryden and Tyler Vining provide twin towers for the Oral Roberts defense.

Western Illinois will be looking for a repeat trip to the NCAA Tournament after its conference tourney win last year. Oskar Gasecki returns to midfield for longtime coach Dr. Eric J ohnson. Centenary(m) will need some dramatic improvement after a 3-win season that saw the Gents outscored 41-16 on the year.