Volleyball On SI

Kentucky Tops SEC Volleyball Preseason Poll over Defending National Champion

Despite entering the season as the reigning NCAA champion, Texas A&M was picked third in the SEC preseason coaches' poll behind Kentucky and Texas.

Paige Durrenberger

Dec 21, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Texas A&M Aggies outside hitter Kyndal Stowers (37) defends Kentucky Wildcats setter Kassie OÕBrien (6) during the first set of the 2025 NCAA WomenÕs Volleyball Championship at T-Mobile Center.Mandatory Credit: Kylie Graham-Imagn Images
Dec 21, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Texas A&M Aggies outside hitter Kyndal Stowers (37) defends Kentucky Wildcats setter Kassie OÕBrien (6) during the first set of the 2025 NCAA WomenÕs Volleyball Championship at T-Mobile Center.Mandatory Credit: Kylie Graham-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Southeastern Conference released its 2026 preseason volleyball coaches' poll Wednesday, July 29.

Despite Texas A&M entering the season as the reigning NCAA national champion, it's Kentucky that has earned the distinction of preseason favorite.

The Wildcats narrowly edged the Texas Longhorns for the top spot, collecting 218 points and nine of the 16 first-place votes. Texas finished just two points behind with 216, while defending national champion Texas A&M was picked third with just one first-place vote.

The SEC preseason poll is voted on by the league's 16 head coaches and coaches are not permitted to vote for their own team, meaning each ballot ranks the other 15 schools.

In 2025, Kentucky captured the SEC Championship and fought all the way to the NCAA National Championship before losing to the Aggies in three sets.

In addition to the No. 1 spot, five of the 15 slots on the Preseason All-SEC Team were Wildcats. Redshirt senior middle blocker Lizzie Carr, senior outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye, junior outside hitter Morgan Gaerte, sophomore setter Kassie O’Brien and 2025 SEC Tournament MVP, senior libero Molly Tuozzo.

Texas A&M is coming off of its first national championship in program history, but SEC coaches appear to believe repeating will be an even greater challenge. Opposite hitter Logan Lednicky, who appeared in all 33 matches and led the 2025 team in kills (467) and points (534), will be missed on the court as she enters her second season of professional volleyball with LOVB Salt Lake City.

Florida enters the season at No. 4 after another strong campaign and returns enough experience to remain firmly in conference title conversations. Tennessee rounds out the top five after continuing to rise as one of the SEC's emerging contenders, losing in the semifinals of the conference championship to Kentucky.

Georgia was voted sixth, followed by Auburn in seventh and LSU in eighth. Missouri landed ninth, with Oklahoma and Vanderbilt rounding out the top ten in a tie of 95 points. Ole Miss follows in 12th, with Mississippi State, South Carolina and Alabama trailing. Arkansas is projected to finish last in the conference with just 25 points.

While preseason polls rarely predict the final standings perfectly, it's an illustration of how competitive the SEC has become in the eyes of the head coaches.

Kentucky will play its season opener against Ohio in Lexington at 4 p.m. CST.

Published |Modified
Paige Durrenberger
PAIGE DURRENBERGER

Paige Durrenberger is a sports writer and Economics student at the University of Texas at Austin. She has covered golf, softball, and the Texas Stars for The Daily Texan and is also a contributing writer for 5Wins. Raised in Dallas, Texas, when Durrenberger isn’t covering sports, she’s either out running with her dog Bailey or cheering on whichever Dallas team is in season.

Home/News