October 18, 2016 – College Soccer News' veteran Bracketologist has been pouring over the available data and has issued his first projections of the forty-eight teams that will constitue the 2016 NCAA Tournament field, the sixteen seeds, and the match-ups based on the most recent RPI issued and a projection of the conference champions based on the information currently available. His analysis is based on projected conference winners and the same criteria the selection committee will utilize which includes win-loss record, geography, recent team play, quality wins, and the head-to-head match-ups that have taken place to date. These projections will continue to be revised as the season progresses.
CSN's Bracketologist advises that the RPI will likely change dramatically as the season progresses thus impacting his projections. In addition clarity in regard to most conference championships will not be decieded until conference tournaments are completed.
The projections are not reflective of any national polls nor are they an attempt to gague who the best teams are. The projections are designed to predict what the NCAA Tournament field would be if the selection committee were to make their selections at this moment. The projections do not take into account expected future results.
The NCAA Tournament field, the seeds, and the brackets will be announced on November 14, 2016 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
#1 Clemson Region
First Round: San Diego State (Pac12 #4) at Pacific (WCC #2)
Second Round: Winner at #1 Clemson (ACC #2)
First Round: Harvard (Ivy #3) at Connecticut (AAC Automatic)
Second Round: Winner at #16 Albany (America East Automatic)
First Round: South Florida (AAC #2) at Indiana (Big Ten #3)
Second Round: Winner at #8 Loyola Chicago (MVC Automatic)
First Round: ETSU (Southern Conference Automatic) at Virginia Tech (ACC #9)
Second Round: Winner at #9 Charlotte (CUSA #2)
#2 Louisville Region
First Round: Wright State (Horizon League Automatic) at Butler (Big East #2)
Second Round: Winner at #2 Louisvile (ACC Automatic)
First Round: UC Santa Barbara (Big West Automatic) at UCLA (Pac-12 #3)
Second Round: Winner at #15 Denver (Summit Automatic)
FIrst Round: Loyola (Md) (Patriot Automatic) at UNCW (CAA #2)
Second Round: Winner at #7 Virginia (ACC #6)
First Round: Columbia (Ivy #2) at Utah Valley (WAC #2)
Second Round: Winner at #10 Stanford (Pac-12 Automatic)
#3 Notre Dame Region
First Round: Radford (Big South Automatic) at Akron (MAC Automatic)
Second Round: Winner at #3 Notre Dame (ACC #3)
First Round: Hartwick (Sun Belt Automatic) at Boston College (ACC #8)
Second Round: Winner at #14 Creighton (Big East Automatic)
First Round: Quinnipiac (MAAC Automatic) at Dartmouth (Ivy Automatic)
Second Round: Winner at #6 Syracuse (ACC #5)
First Round: FGCU (Atlantic Sun Automatic) at Michigan State (Big Ten #2)
Second Round: Winner at #11 Wake Forest (ACC #7)
#4 Maryland Region
First Round: St. Francis (N.Y.) (NEC Automatic) at Hofstra (CAA Automatic)
Second Round: Winner at #4 Maryland (Big Ten Automatic)
First Round: Portland (WCC Automatic) at Seattle (WAC Automatic)
Second Round: Winner at #13 Washington (Pac-12 #2)
First Round: Villanova (Big East #4) at South Carolina (CUSA Automatic)
Second Round: Winner at #5 North Carolina (ACC #4)
First Round: St. Louis (Atlantic 10 Automatic) at Xavier (Big East #3)
Second Round: Winner at #12 Kentucky (CUSA #3)
Conference Breakdown
| America East | 1 |
| American Athletic | 2 |
| Atlantic Coast | 9 |
| Atlantic Sun | 1 |
| Atlantic 10 | 1 |
| Big East | 4 |
| Big South | 1 |
| Big Ten | 3 |
| Big West | 1 |
| CAA | 2 |
| CUSA | 3 |
| Horizon League | 1 |
| Ivy League | 3 |
| Metro Atlantic | 1 |
| Mid American | 1 |
| Missouri Valley | 1 |
| Northeast | 1 |
| Pacific 12 | 4 |
| Patriot League | 1 |
| Southern | 1 |
| Summit League | 1 |
| Sun Belt | 1 |
| WAC | 2 |
| West Coast | 2 |
| Total | 48 |
Last Four At Large Selections:
Villanova
San Diego State
Harvard
Columbia
Last Four Out:
West Virginia
New Hampshire
California
Vermont
Projected Conference Winners
| Conference | 17 October 2016 | RPI |
| America East | Albany | 15 |
| American Athletic | Connecticut | 26 |
| Atlantic Coast | Louisville | 3 |
| Atlantic Sun | FGCU | 53 |
| Atlantic 10 | Saint Louis | 45 |
| Big East | Creighton | 17 |
| Big South | Radford | 48 |
| Big Ten | Maryland | 5 |
| Big West | UC Santa Barbara | 80 |
| Colonial Athletic | Hofstra | 30 |
| Conference USA | South Carolina | 25 |
| Horizon League | Wright State | 101 |
| Ivy League | Dartmouth | 18 |
| Metro Atlantic | Quinnipiac | 61 |
| Mid American | Akron | 36 |
| Missouri Valley | Loyola Chicago | 4 |
| Northeast | St. Francis (NY) | 86 |
| Pacific 12 | Stanford | 11 |
| Patriot | Loyola (MD) | 97 |
| Southern | ETSU | 35 |
| Summit | Denver | 19 |
| Sun Belt | Hartwick | 62 |
| WAC | Seattle | 42 |
| West Coast | Portland | 54 |
