MOHAVE COUNTY – Mohave College is ready to begin a second season after a rousingly successful inaugural year of intercollegiate soccer competition. Student athletes for the men and women’s Bighorn Soccer squads took to the field for their first practices of 2026 on Saturday, Aug. 1.
Director of Soccer Programs and Men’s head coach Camilo Valencia looks forward to gathering with team members. He said they get to meet new Mohave College President Christin Holiday on the first day of practice.
And never mind how hot it might be. Summer sizzle is a secret weapon for Bighorn Soccer.
“We’ve always said the hotter it gets here, the better it is for us because we live here. The other teams don’t,” Valencia said. “So for us, the heat is our 12th player. Hopefully it stays 120 degrees for the rest of the season.”
The men’s team made it all the way to the semi-finals of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1 tournament last year, ending its 2025 season with a 3-1 loss to Daytona State. The 2026 national rankings are not out yet, but Valencia thinks the men’s team should be in the top five.
Valencia said the men have a mix of quality opponents that will provide a strength of schedule opportunity to earn a better seed for the 2026 national tournament.
“We’re playing some tough teams this year because that’s where we are,” Valencia said. “We’re a top team so we must play against top teams.”
The men’s team will host the defending Division 2 national champion Phoenix College on Aug. 12. They’ll face other challenges when they visit Snow College in Iowa on Aug. 29 before hosting Otero in Bullhead City on Sept. 5.
The Bighorns beat Otero 3-2 last Nov. in pool play at the national tournament. A Big Horn reunion of sorts will occur when Mohave visits Utah Tech Aug. 29, as two players from last year’s teams have transferred to Utah Tech.
“It’s going to be cool to play against them and see them again,” Valencia said.
Preseason matches will precede Bighorn men and women’s regular season play that begins Aug. 20.
