The two-time defending ConfCarolinas champions are the preseason favorites to make it a three-peat.
Belmont Abbey finished atop the ConfCarolinas Preseason Poll that the conference recently released.
The Crusaders return a majority after winning the ConfCarolinas Tournament as the No. 2 seed and reaching the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. Among returners includes middle attacker Jibriel Elhaddad who was in the nation’s top top 15 last season with both a 1.14 blocks per game average and a .376 attack percentage.
Belmont Abbey received six first-place votes and 48 points to edge out Mount Olive by four points for the top spot in the preseason poll.
Mount Olive was the only other school to receive first-place votes. The Trojans went undefeated during the 2025 ConfCarolinas regular season but lost to the Crusaders in the conference tournament finals.
Barton and North Greenville round out the top half of the ConfCarolinas poll.
The ConfCarolinas season will begin in February and conclude with the six-team conference tournament in April. The winner of the ConfCarolinas Tournament will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
2026 ConfCarolinas Preseason Poll
1. Belmont Abbey – 48 (6) points
2. Mount Olive – 44 (2) points
3. Barton – 35 points
4. North Greenville – 31 points
5. Erskine – 24 points
6. King – 20 points
7. Lees-McRae – 13 points
8. Emmanuel – 9 points