ODESSA, Texas (August 19, 2026) – Heading into the 2026 UT Permian Basin women's soccer season under the direction of Head Coach Garrett Kull in his second season, the Falcons had three athletes named to the Lone Star Conference preseason players to watch list. As a team, UTPB is projected to finish 13th in the conference for the second year in a row, receiving 148 total points.

While only going 3-10-3 (2-10-2 in the Lone Star Conference), Kull managed to tie the best start for a first-year head coach for the program while also having the best defensive performance in program history in 2025. The Falcons went until the very last match of the season without giving up three goals in a match, and set a new program record for goals allowed and goals-against average in a single season. UTPB carried a 1.00 goals-against average heading into the final week of the season and in the end, allowed 19 goals for a 1.19 goals-against average. That broke the previous records of 23 goals allowed in both 2022 and 2024 and a 1.35 goals-against average set just last season (2024). UTPB ranked seventh in the LSC in goals-against average and was ninth in goals allowed in Coach Kull's first season.

UTPB's preseason players to watch included senior goalkeeper Valeria Delgado (Goalkeeper to Watch), sophomore defender Trinity Vasquez (Defensive Player to Watch) and sophomore midfielder Mikaela Corral (Offensive Player to Watch). It was the third straight year being named to the preseason watch list for Delgado. Vasquez and Corral, meanwhile, saw action in all 16 matches as freshman last season.

Delgado was UTPB's female nominee for the 2026 Lone Star Conference Athlete of the Year award after starting all 16 matches for the Falcons in goal. She allowed a 1.24 goals-against average (9th in conference), made 93 saves (3rd in conference), held a .830 save percentage (3rd in conference), and averaged 5.81 saves per game (3rd in conference). She also saved two penalty kicks in regular time throughout the season and helped the Falcons set new program records for goals allowed in a season (19) and goals-against average (1.19). Delgado was named UTPB's Edgardo Madrid & Associates Women's Student-Athlete of the Month for September after never allowing more than one goal in a match during the first seven matches of the season. Delgado later made at least eight saves in six of the Falcons' final 10 matches of the season and set a new career-high in saves twice during a four-match span late in the season. She totaled a then-career-best 10 saves in a 0-0 draw vs. Oklahoma Christian (Oct. 18) and recorded a new career-best 11 saves in a 2-1 defeat in the Falcons' final road match of the season at Midwestern State (Oct. 29).  After the season, Delgado was named to the 2025 LSC Women's Soccer All-Academic Team. Delgado is a marketing major with a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average going into her senior year, and she is just the second UTPB women's soccer player to be named to the LSC All-Academic team. She was also named to the 2025-26 Academic All-District® Team, selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC).

Vasquez was a consistent starter and got strong minutes as a freshman in her first with the Falcons. She started in all 16 matches and logged over 1,300 minutes. She was third on the team in minutes played after playing all 90 minutes in eight matches. Vasquez was one of six Falcons to score a goal on the season, tied for fourth on the team in total shots (9) and shots on goal (4), and tallied at least one shot in six matches. She scored her first-career goal and UTPB's first goal of the season in the 21st minute during UTPB's first win of the season, 3-1, vs. Wayland Baptist (Sept. 10). Defensively, she helped UTPB log four shutouts as a team and hold its opponent to one goal or less in 10 matches, including doing so in each of the first seven matches of the season. The Falcons went until the very last match of the season without giving up three goals in a match and carried a 1.00 goals-against average heading into the final week of the season. She helped the Falcons set new program records for goals allowed in a season (19) and goals-against average (1.19) as UTPB ranked seventh in the LSC in goals-against average and was ninth in goals allowed.

Corral played in all 16 matches last season and made 11 starts as a freshman, including starting in each of the first nine matches of the season. She logged over 1,000 minutes on the year and finished her rookie season tied for second on the team in goals (2) and points (4) and had five total shots and two shots on goal. Corral scored her first-career goal in the 87th minute and had a season-high two shot attempts in a 3-0 win at Eastern New Mexico (Sept. 20). She also scored off the post in a 2-0 home win vs. Sul Ross State (Oct. 22) in which the Falcons set a program record in the NCAA Division II era with 40 shot attempts.

LSC PRESEASON POLL
In the preseason poll, defending Lone Star Conference champion DBU is predicted to win another LSC women's soccer championship. DBU totaled 662 points and collected 38 of the possible 45 first-place votes. Head coach Marcus Wood's Patriots were 20-2 overall and 12-1 in league play last season. They won their sixth LSC regular season title, fourth LSC tournament crown, set a program record with 16 consecutive victories and reached the NCAA Division II national quarterfinals. DBU finished the season ranked No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches poll.

Four-time LSC champion Midwestern State is the pick as conference runner-up with 583 points and two first-place votes. The Mustangs went 11-3-6 overall and 10-0-4 in league play last year and earned a NCAA tournament berth.

Texas Woman's is picked to finish third with 581 points and three first-place votes. The Pioneers finished 16-4-3 overall and 9-2-3 in LSC action in 2025. They reached the LSC title match and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

UT Dallas is picked fourth with 556 points and one first-place vote. The Comets went 12-3-3 overall and 9-3-2 in LSC play last year. UT Tyler is fifth with 459 points, followed by St. Mary's (443 points), five-time LSC champion Angelo State (434 points) and St. Edward's (338 points) to round out what would be the potential eight qualifiers for the LSC tournament. StMU picked up the final first-place vote.

Lubbock Christian is in ninth place with 336 points and eight-time LSC champion West Texas A&M completes the top 10 with 266 points. Oklahoma Christian is 11th with 240 points, followed by Texas A&M International (194 points), UT Permian Basin (146 points) Sul Ross State (97 points) and Eastern New Mexico (63 points).

The preseason poll and preseason players of the year are voted on by LSC head coaches, sports information directors and media members.

The LSC women's soccer season begins as early as August 27. To see the league schedule, click here. All 15 LSC women's soccer teams are eligible to win the regular season title and advance to the LSC and NCAA Division II postseason tournaments. The eight-team LSC women's soccer tournament will be held October 30 (first round), November 2 (quarterfinals), November 5 (semifinals) and November 8 (final). The first round and quarterfinal matches are played at the site of the higher seed. The semifinals and final rounds are hosted by the No. 1 seed. The NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship is set for December 3 and 5 at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. All LSC women's soccer regular season and tournament matches can be viewed live on FloCollege.

The Falcons will open their regular season on Thursday, August 27, hosted the University of Southwest (N.M.) starting at 6 p.m. at the UTPB Soccer Field.