October 22, 2014 – College Soccer New's Bracketologist issues his initial projection of the 2014 NCAA Tournament field based on the latest RPI issued and a projection of the conference champions based on the information currently available. These projections will be updated as the season progresses. Doctor Bracketology has projected the forty-eight teams that will be in the 2014 NCAA Tournament field, the sixteen seeds, and the match-ups. His analysis is based on projected conference winners and the criteria the selection committee will use which includes win-loss record, geography, recent team play, quality wins, and the head-to-head match-ups that have taken place to-date.
The Doctor cautions that the RPI will change dramatically as the season progresses. The picture regarding conference championships and automatic berths will become clearer as the season progresses and conference tournaments get underway. The projections are not reflective of any national polls nor are they attempting to gague who the best teams are. They are designed to predict what the NCAA Tournament fiedl would be if the selections were to be made at this moment. The projections do not take into account expected future results.
#1 UCLA Region
First Round – Radford (Big South Automatic) vs. UAB (CUSA #2)
Second Round – Winner vs. #1 UCLA (Pac-12 #2)
First Round – St. Francis PA (NEC Automatic) vs. Xavier (Big East #4)
Winner vs. #16 Saint Louis (A-10 #3)
First Round – Western Illinois (Summit Automatic) vs. Valparaiso (Horizon League #2)
Winner vs. #8 Michigan (Big Ten #3)
First Round – SMU (AAU Automatic) vs. Kentucky (CUSA #3)
Winner vs. #9 Creighton (Big East Automatic)
#2 UC Irvine Region
First Round – San Francisco (WCC Automatic) vs. California (Pac-12 #4)
Winner vs. #2 UC Irvine (Big West Automatic)
First Round – American (Patriot #2) vs. Maryland (Big Ten #4)
Winner vs. #15 Georgetown (Big East #3)
First Round – UMBC (America East Automatic) vs. Elon (CAA Automatic)
Winner vs. #7 Syracuse (ACC #2)
First Round – Hartwick (Sun Belt Automatic) vs. North Carolina (ACC #4)
Winner vs. #10 Stanford (Pac-12 #3)
#3 Indiana Region
First Round – SIUE (MVC Automatic) vs. Louisville (ACC #7)
Winner vs. #3 Indiana (Big Ten #2)
First Round – Rhode Island (A-10 Automatic) vs. Boston University (Patriot Automatic)
Winner vs. #14 Providence (Big East #2)
First Round – Harvard (Ivy Automatic) vs. New Mexico (CUSA #4)
Winner vs. #6 Washington (Pac-12 Automatic)
First Round – Siena (MAAC Automatic) vs. Akron (MAC Automatic)
Winner vs. #11 Penn State (Big Ten Automatic)
#4 Notre Dame Region
First Round – Oakland (Horizon Automatic) vs. Northwestern (Big Ten #5)
Winner vs #4 Notre Dame (ACC Automatic)
First Round – FGCU (A-Sun Automatic) vs. UNCW (CAA #2)
Winner vs. #4 Notre Dame
First Round – Incarnate Word (WAC Automatic) vs. Clemson (ACC #5)
Winner vs. #13 Davidson (A-10 #2)
First Round – Mercer (Southern Conference Automatic) vs. Coastal Carolina (Big South #2)
Winner vs. #12 Virginia (ACC #3)
Projected Conference Breakdown
| America East | 1 |
| American Athletic | 1 |
| Atlantic Coast | 6 |
| Atlantic Sun | 1 |
| Atlantic 10 | 3 |
| Big East | 4 |
| Big South | 2 |
| Big Ten | 5 |
| Big West | 1 |
| CAA | 2 |
| CUSA | 4 |
| Horizon | 2 |
| Ivy | 1 |
| Metro Atlantic | 1 |
| Mid American | 1 |
| Missouri Valley | 1 |
| Northeast | 1 |
| Pacific 12 | 4 |
| Patriot | 2 |
| Southern | 1 |
| Summit | 1 |
| Sun Belt | 1 |
| WAC | 1 |
| West Coast | 1 |
| Total | 48 |
