Springfield Men's Volleyball enters the year as the clear favorite, opening the season ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Division III Men’s Volleyball Preseason Poll. This marks the first time since 2021 that Springfield will open the season ranked in the AVCA Poll.

With plenty of parity expected throughout the top 10, the poll sets the stage for a competitive season across Division III.

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Springfield Men’s Volleyball: The Team to Beat

Springfield sits atop the preseason poll at No. 1 with 588 total points, positioning the Pride as the early standard in Division III men’s volleyball. 

Since the AVCA began the Division III poll in 1996, Springfield has been in the top spot 136 times and has appeared in all 404 polls. 

Springfield is the only Division III men's volleyball program to be ranked in every AVCA Division III national poll and has been number one more than anyone else in the country. Only Springfield and Juniata have been ranked first over 100 times.

The stage is set 🔥

Springfield is the number one ranked team in Division III Men’s Volleyball heading into the 2026 season. #NEWMAC | @NEWMACsports | @SC_Pride pic.twitter.com/qk4WjdQIzj

— FloCollege | Volleyball (@FloCollegeVB) January 14, 2026

Led by head coach Charlie Sullivan, who enters his 28th season at the helm of the Pride, Springfield will open its 2026 campaign this weekend in California before returning home for its Division III opener at Baruch on January 23. Sullivan has totaled 543 wins since 1999, as he sits ninth all-time in men's volleyball coaches across all divisions for most wins. Among active coaches, Sullivan is second only behind Penn State's Mark Pavlik, who has 696 victories to his name.

In 2025, Springfield reached the NCAA Division III national championship match for the ninth time in program history. The Pride posted a record of 25-5 and earned wins over eight nationally-ranked programs.

Known for its physicality, depth, and championship pedigree, Springfield once again brings the talent and experience needed to make a deep postseason run. With a target on their backs from day one, the Pride will look to justify their preseason billing as the nation’s top-ranked team.

Poll Breakdown: A Crowded Field Behind the Pride

Carthage (No. 2) and Juniata (No. 3) round out the top three, followed closely by Southern Virginia and Messiah to complete the top five. Longtime national contenders Stevens, Vassar, and NYU all find themselves inside the top eight, underscoring the depth and balance within Division III.

Programs from coast to coast are represented throughout the rankings, signaling another season where conference races and national tournament positioning could come down to the wire.

AVCA Division III Men’s Volleyball Preseason Poll

January 5

Rank    School    Points    Record

1    Springfield    588    0-0

2    Carthage    533    0-0

3    Juniata    499    0-0

4    Southern Virginia    471    0-0

5    Messiah    449    0-0

6    Stevens    441    0-0

7    Vassar    435    0-0

8    NYU    409    0-0

9    Cal Lutheran    374    0-0

10    Aurora    335    0-0

11    Wentworth    272    0-0

12    SUNY New Paltz    264    0-0

13    UC Santa Cruz    253    0-0

14    Loras    133    0-0

15    Baldwin-Wallace    120    0-0

16    Hobart    101    0-0

17    St. John Fisher    89    0-0

18    North Central (IL)    78    0-0

19    MIT    67    0-0

20    Misericordia    62    0-0

Others Receiving Votes

Benedictine (IL) (45), Lasell (43), Rutgers–Newark (37), Mount Union (34), Nazareth (32), MSOE (28), Nichols (21), Randolph-Macon (20), Marymount (14), Dominican (10), Baruch (7), Buffalo State (7), Wittenberg (3)

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