The Kentucky Wildcats men's soccer team is an intercollegiate

varsity sports In most English-speaking countries, varsity is an abbreviation of the word ''university''. In the United States and Canada, the term is mostly used in relation to sports teams. Varsity in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, varsity team ...

team of the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

(UK). Since the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) does not sponsor men's soccer (minimum four schools needed to sponsor a sport, only two offer it), the team has been associate members of other conferences. From 1995 to 2004, it was a member of the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

. In 2005, UK moved men's soccer to

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

, creating a rivalry with fellow new member

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, which had rejoined the reunified conference that season. Both UK and South Carolina remained in C-USA men's soccer through the 2021 season, after which both programs left for the newly reinstated men's soccer league of the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

. In 2018, Kentucky went 17–1–1 with wins against #6

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

and #2

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, both by a score of 3–0 at home. They finished 7–1 overall in conference play with their only lose coming on the road at

FIU Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florida ...

2–3. The Wildcats won the C-USA Regular Season and Tournament Titles. They were the #3 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, their highest until 2022. In 2022, Kentucky finished the regular season at 14-0-5 with wins against #10 Louisville and #21 Lipscomb at home, both by scores of 3-2. They also tied against #20

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

in Tulsa 1-1 and #7

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

in Lexington 1-1. All four of these games in a two week span from September 6th to September 20th. They finished 5-0-3 and Sun Belt Regular Season and Tournament Champions. They were awarded the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the first time in school history. The school has two major rivalries, one traditional and one unique since they are an all-sports in-conference competition, but in this sport is a rivalry because of its nature. * ''Governor's Cup'': Against in-state rival

, the traditional all-sports rivalry between Louisville (ACC) and Kentucky (SBC). * ''

SEC Derby The SEC Derby is the set of matches between the Kentucky Wildcats (UK) and South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer programs, respectively representing the University of Kentucky and University of South Carolina. Since the 2022 season, it has been a ...

'': While UK and

are not regarded as major SEC rivals in other sports, the two schools are the only SEC members that sponsor varsity men's soccer teams. UK left the Mid-American Conference after the 2004 season when South Carolina rejoined the reunified Conference USA, in which it had last been a member in 1994 (when it was the Metro). The two schools moved men's soccer together to the Sun Belt Conference for 2022. Both schools have referred to the rivalry as the ''Southeastern Conference Men's Championship''.

Notable former players

* *

Andy Gruenebaum Andy Gruenebaum (; born December 30, 1982) is a retired American professional soccer goalkeeper. He was selected by the Columbus Crew with the third overall pick in the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft. He made his MLS debut in 2006. Career Amateu ...

Riley O'Neill Riley O'Neill (born September 9, 1985) is a Canadian soccer coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for Pacific FC. Club career On January 18, 2007 O'Neill was drafted by Colorado Rapids in the third round (36th overall) of th ...

Michael D'Agostino Michael D'Agostino (born 7 January 1987) is a Canadian / Italian former soccer player who is currently the assistant coach for the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer. He has represented the Canadian National Soccer Team from the U-15 ...

* Barry Rice *

Jason Griffiths Jason Griffiths (born 22 March 1987 in Bracknell) is an English footballer. Career Griffiths played college soccer at University of Kentucky from 2006 to 2009, where he appeared in 65 games with 64 starts in his Kentucky career, earning all-r ...

Callum Irving Callum Ernest John Irving (born March 16, 1993) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Canadian Premier League club Vancouver FC. He began his career playing for local clubs in Vancouver before joining the Whitec ...

Napo Matsoso Napo Davis Matsoso is a Mosotho footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Oakland Roots and the Lesotho national team. Besides Lesotho, he has played in the United States. Matsoso was drafted 31st overall by the New England Revolutio ...

* JJ Williams *

Aimé Mabika Aimé Mabika (born 16 August 1998) is a Zambian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Zambia national team. Career College and amateur Mabika attended the University of Kentucky in 20 ...

Brett Smith Brett Smith (born June 8, 1992) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Wyoming. He attended Leslie Middle School in Salem, Oregon from 2004 to 07 and later graduated from West Salem High School in 2011. High ...

References

External links

* 1991 establishments in Kentucky {{Kentucky-footyclub-stub