KANSAS CITY, MO (Aug. 8, 2023) – United Soccer Coaches has announced the Defenders on its NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Players to Watch lists for the 2023 intercollegiate season.The lists are comprised of 36 women and 24 men, led by eight total returning All-Americans. The returning women’s All-Americans include 2022 first-teamers Eva Gaetino (Notre Dame), Lyndsey Heckel (Saint Louis), and Julia Leas (Georgetown), second team returnees Lilly Reale (UCLA), and Jade Rose (Harvard), and third-teamers Kayla Duran (Brown) and Emily Mason (Rutgers). On the men’s side, 2022 second-teamer Leo Bruney of University of Pennsylvania is the lone returner.The lists are being released for the first time this season by the Division I All-America Committees to promote college soccer leading up to the official start date for the regular season later this month. The lists include United Soccer Coaches All-Americans and first or second team All-Region players from 2022, who are scheduled to return for the 2023 season.Here is the schedule for all of the position announcements this fall:
August 5 – Goalkeepers
August 9 – Defenders
August 12 – Midfielders
August 16 – Forwards
2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Players to Watch – Defenders
| Name | Class | School | Hometown |
| Arely Alaniz | Sr. | Lamar University | Deer Park, Texas |
| Hannah Anderson | GR5 | Texas Tech University | Plano, Texas |
| Maya Antoine | Sr. | Vanderbilt University | Vaughan, Ont. |
| Natalie Bain | So. | Xavier University | Alexandria, Ky. |
| Megan Bornkamp | Jr. | Clemson University | Mooresville, N.C. |
| Zoe Burns | Sr. | University of Southern California | Issaquah, Wash. |
| Brooklyn Courtnall | Jr. | University of Southern California | Westlake Village, Calif. |
| EmJ Cox | So. | University of Texas | Dallas, Texas |
| Raegan Cox | GR5 | Michigan State University | Muskegon, Mich. |
| Matea Diekema | GR5 | Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville | Grand Rapids, Mich. |
| Kayla Duran | GR5 | University of Southern California | Woburn, Mass. |
| Elise Evans | So. | Stanford University | Redwood City, Calif. |
| Eva Gaetino | Sr. | University of Notre Dame | Dexter, Mich. |
| Kylie Gazza | GR5 | Samford University | Cumming, Ga. |
| Madison Haugen | Sr. | University of Georgia | Cumming, Ga. |
| Victoria Haugen | Sr. | Virginia Tech | Bristow, Va. |
| Lyndsey Heckel | Sr. | Saint Louis University | St. Louis, Mo. |
| Sade Heinrichs | Sr. | Georgia Southern University | Monchengladbach, Germany |
| Bridie Herman | GR5 | Liberty University | Springboro, Ohio |
| Alivia Kelly | Jr. | University of New Hampshire | Pembroke, Mass. |
| Julia Leas | GR5 | Georgetown University | Vienna, Va. |
| Kaycee Manding | Sr. | South Dakota State University | Waipahu, Hawaii |
| Emily Mason | Jr. | Rutgers University | Flemington, N.J. |
| Logan McFadden | Sr. | Lipscomb University | Birmingham, Ala. |
| Brittany Munson | GR5 | James Madison University | Merrick, N.Y. |
| Lilly Reale | Jr. | UCLA | Hingham, MA |
| Payton Robertson | GR5 | University at Kentucky | Toronto, Ont. |
| Jade Rose | Jr. | Harvard University | Markham, Ont. |
| Jenna Shepherd | Sr. | Utah Valley University | American Fork, Utah |
| Ellie Simmons | So | University at Buffalo | Arlington, Va. |
| Grace Stordy | Sr. | University of Memphis | Calgary, Alb. |
| Allyna Thurston | Jr. | University of North Florida | Cassellberry, Fla. |
| Lava Vaka | GR5 | Brigham Young University | Sandy, Utah |
| Kennedy Wesley | GR5 | Stanford University | Rossmoor, Calif. |
| Katie Zailski | So. | University of Pittsburgh | Summerville, S.C. |
| Regan Zimmers | Sr. | University of Nebraska-Omaha | Omaha, Neb, |
2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Players to Watch – Defenders
| Name | Class | School | Hometown |
| Nick Atkinson | Sr. | Army West Point | Raleigh, N.C. |
| Hugo Bacharach | Sr. | Indiana University | Benicassim, Spain |
| Zach Barrett | Sr. | University of Vermont | Phoenixville, Pa. |
| Hesron Barry | Sr. | University of Wisconsin-Green Bay | Ocho Rios, Jamaica |
| Thomas Beecham | Sr. | California Baptist University | Newcastle, Australia |
| Max Broughton | Sr. | West Virginia University | Rawtenstall, England |
| Leo Burney | Jr. | University of Pennsylvania | Seattle, Wash. |
| Brendan Clark | Sr. | University of California-Riverside | Pompano Beach, Fla. |
| Case Cox | Sr. | Belmont University | Louisville, Ky. |
| Connor Drought | Sr. | Cornell University | Mukilteo, Wash. |
| Emmanuel Hagan | Sr. | University of North Carolina-Greensboro | Accra, Ghana |
| Timo Hummrich | GR5 | Fordham University | Berlin, Germany |
| Pierce Infuso | Sr. | Hofstra University | Merrick, N.Y. |
| Will Jackson | Sr. | University of Akron | Hudson, Ohio |
| Franc Gamiz Quer | GR5 | Elon University | Sabadell, Spain |
| Makel Rasheed | GR5 | Xavier University | Rockville, Md. |
| Joel Sangwa | Sr. | University of Akron | Phoenix, Ariz. |
| Tommy Silva | Sr. | UCLA | Tucson, Ariz. |
| Bjarne Thiesen | Sr. | University of Maryland | Kiel, Germany |
| Garrison Tubbs | Sr. | Wake Forest University | Brunswick, Ga. |
| Vemund Hole Vik | GR5 | University of North Carolina | Aalesund, Norway |
| Robert Winkler | Sr. | Long Island University | Jena, Germany |
| Trevor Wright | Jr. | University of Denver | Castle Rock, Colo. |
| Ronan Wynne | Sr. | University of Denver | Auckland, New Zealand |
*GR5 Indicates student-athletes exercising their extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19
These positional announcements also lead up to the 2023 watch lists for the prestigious Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy on the official start date for regular season games on August 17 (women) and August 24 (men). The MAC Hermann Trophy is presented annually to the Division I National Players of the Year as voted by Division I College Coaches at the end of the regular season. The 2023 recipients will be announced on January 5, 2024, in St. Louis, Mo.