IRVING, Texas — Kentucky senior defenseman Nathan Marks has been named the Conference-USA preseason Defensive Player of the Year, as voted on by the league?s coaches and announced by the conference office on Wednesday morning.

Marks, a native of Louisville, Ky., played in 19 games in 2006, starting 17. Marks was named second-team C-USA a year ago after leading a UK defense that ranked second in the league and 23rd nationally with a 0.78 goals-against average.

Marks, a physical 5-foot-11 defender, has been a fixture in the Wildcat defense since arriving as a highly-touted player out of Trinity High School. Upon arriving on the UK campus in 2004, Marks was tabbed as one of 100 Freshmen to Watch by collegesoccernews.com. For his career, Marks has played in 52 games with 46 starts, tallying one goal and six total points. Marks was also named to the C-USA preseason All-Conference team.

Kentucky notched a 14-5-2 record during a highly successful 2006 campaign, cumulating in a program-best No. 13 national ranking and a second-place conference finish. In 2006, UK utilized a fierce defense and a high-octane offense to register an impressive 44 goals and climb into the national polls.

SMU, who spent the majority of the 2006 season as the No. 1 team in the nation and is the defending C-USA Champion, was selected by the league?s coaches as the preseason favorite. UAB was tabbed second in the conference, with the Wildcats rounding out the top-three.

Mustang junior midfielder Bruno Guarda, the 2006 C-USA Player of the Year, was named the preseason C-USA Offensive Player of the Year.

UK starts the season hosting the annual UK Invitational on Friday, Aug. 31 with a matchup vs. Cornell. Prior to the regular season opener, UK begins its exhibition slate with an Aug. 20 showdown with Dayton at the UK Soccer Complex.