FRISCO, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team earned some recognition from its contemporaries ahead of the upcoming season, as it was predicted to finish third in the Southland Conference in the league's preseason poll that was released on Friday morning.
The poll, which was newly reinstated ahead for the 2026-27 school year, was voted on by each institution's head coach or sports information director, who ranked their predicted order of regular season finish while excluding their own team. The Islanders received 89 points in total and got one first-place vote, slotting in behind only defending champions Stephen F. Austin (118) and UTRGV (113) and right ahead of fourth-place Southeastern (88), fifth-place Lamar (87) and sixth-place UIW (86).
The Islanders are coming off a season in which they once again established themselves as one of the league's elites, reaching the semifinals of the SLC Volleyball Championship for the eighth time in 10 years under head coach
Steve Greene. They have also made five trips to the finals of the tournament and won four conference titles under Greene, and they return 11 players for their pursuit of more championship gold, including reigning SLC Libero of the Year
Brooklyn Jaeger and First Team All-Conference setter
Virginia Van Der Werff.
A&M-Corpus Christi begins its season in tournament action, traveling to Manhattan, Kansas to take on both hosts Kansas State and Campbell in the K-State Invitational on August 28 and 29. The team then travels home to host the Islanders Classic from September 3-5, which will feature a field of in-state rivals Texas State, UTEP and UTRGV. Tickets for the upcoming season can be purchased
here.
Click here to read the full Southland Conference release.
2026 Southland Conference Preseason Poll
1. SFA - 118 (8)
2. UTRGV - 113 (3)
3. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - 89 (1)
4. Southeastern - 88
5. Lamar - 87
6. UIW - 86
7. HCU - 57
8. East Texas A&M - 49
9. McNeese - 45
10. LSU New Orleans - 28
11. Nicholls - 17
12. Northwestern State - 15
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