Junior midfielder Cameron Cox has been named to the Preseason All-Conference USA Team ahead of the 2016 season, as announced by the C-USA office Tuesday.
Middle Tennessee comes in tied with Old Dominion while the reigning 2015 C-USA tournament winners, North Texas, were picked to repeat.
Head Coach Aston Rhoden returns a strong set of players led by Cox. An All-Conference Second Team selection in 2015, she is poised to make an impact for the Blue Raiders again this season.
Cox started all 20 games for MT in 2015, totaling 1,635 minutes. A work horse in the midfield for the Raiders, Rhoden often described her as the unsung hero and the one who gets the dirty work done at midfield for the team. Cox tallied one goal last season, the game-winner over Jacksonville State on Aug. 28.
The C-USA Preseason Poll and All-Conference Teams were voted on by the league’s coaches.
Middle Tennessee will begin the season with a pair exhibition games at Kennesaw State (Aug. 11) and against Martin Methodist (Aug. 14) before hosting Jacksonville State on Aug. 19 to open the regular season.
2015-16 C-USA WOMEN’S SOCCER PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Student-Athlete | School | Class | Pos. | Hometown
Martha Thomas | Charlotte | Jr. | MF | Weston, Florida
Erica Burt | Florida Atlantic | Sr. | D | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Sydney Drinkwater | Florida Atlantic | Sr. | GK | Merritt Island, Florida
Kathryn Sloan | Louisiana Tech | Sr. | F | Kansas City, Missouri
Sydney Arnold | Marshall | Sr. | MF | Stafford, Virginia
Cameron Cox | Middle Tennessee | Jr. | MF | Roswell, Georgia
Rachel Holden | North Texas | Sr. | F | Lancaster, Texas
Iris Achterhof | Old Dominion | So. | F | Groningen, Netherlands
Samantha Chaiken | Rice | Jr. | MF | Dallas, Texas
Jenny Fichera | Rice | Sr. | D | Ann Arbor, Michigan
Jasmine Isokpunwu | Rice | Sr. | D | Austin, Texas
Aleah Davis | UTEP | Sr. | D/MF | Hewitt, Texas
Hannah Chua | WKU | Jr. | MF | Claremont, California
2016 C-USA PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Martha Thomas, Charlotte, Jr., MF
2016 C-USA PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Erica Burt, Florida Atlantic, Sr., D
Jasmine Isokpunwu, Rice, Sr., D
Aleah Davis, UTEP, Sr., D/MF
2016 C-USA PRESEASON POLL
(as selected by C-USA coaches)
1. North Texas
2. Rice
3. Florida Atlantic
4. Marshall
5t. Middle Tennessee
Old Dominion
7. Charlotte
8. WKU
9. FIU
10. UTEP
11. Louisiana Tech
12. UAB
13. Southern Miss
14. UTSA
