The defending NCAA champions are the preseason favorites to win a Big West championship in 2026.
Long Beach State finished atop the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll that the conference released on Monday.
The Beach had a nation-best .398 attack percentage last season en route to winning its first NCAA championship since 2019. Among the starters returning for Long Beach State includes pin-hitters Skyler Varga and Alex Kandev, who both were named to the all-conference preseason team.
Long Beach State, though, will be without its head coach the National Player of the Year from last year’s team.
Setter Moni Nikolov opted to turn pro following his freshman season, while Hall of Fame coach Alan Knipe announced his retirement in December.
Long Beach State garnered four of the six first-place votes to edge out second-place Hawai’i by two points in the preseason poll. Hawai’i was the only other team to receive first-place votes.
UC Irvine finished in third place to round out the top half of the preseason poll.
The Big West season will begin in March and conclude with the six-team conference tournament in April. The winner of the Big West Tournament will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
2026 Big West Preseason Poll
1. Long Beach State – 24 (4) points
2. Hawai’i – 22 (2) points
3. UC Irvine – 17 points
T-4. CSUN – 9 points
T-4. UC San Diego – 9 points
T-4. UC Santa Barbara – 9 points
2026 Big West Preseason Team
George Bruening, UC Santa Barbara
Alex Kandev, Long Beach State
Jalen Phillips, CSUN
Tread Rosenthal, Hawai’i
Adrien Roure, Hawai’i
Kristian Titriyski, Hawai’i
Skyler Varga, Long Beach State