SAN BRUNO, Calif. – LMU, the national runner-up in the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship last season, was voted as the West Coast Conference preseason favorite in the 2026 annual preseason coaches poll.
The coaches poll and preseason all-conference team were selected solely by a vote of the conference's seven head coaches. Coaches cannot vote for their own teams and student-athletes.
The Lions claimed 36 points and six first-place votes. Pepperdine, the second-seeded team in last year’s conference tournament, finished second in the poll with 30 points and one first-place vote. Santa Clara, who made it to the conference final last season, came in third with 27 points while Saint Mary’s (20 points), San Francisco (17), Pacific (9 points) and Portland (8 points) round out the remainder of the poll.
LMU collected the most preseason team honorees with five, while Pepperdine boasted the second most with two. Saint Mary’s, San Francisco and Santa Clara all garnered one representative each.
Five members of the 10-person preseason team were also named to the all-conference first team or earned a major award last season, including half of the 2025 Pair of the Year in LMU’s Magdalena Rabitsch, Defensive Player of the Year Chloe Hooker of LMU and the Co-Freshmen of the Year Pepperdine’s Emma Eden and Tanon Rosenthal of LMU. LMU's Anna Pelloia was also an All-West Coast Conference First Team member last season. This marks the third straight appearance on the preseason team for Hooker.
The 2026 season begins on Thursday, Feb. 19. The 2026 West Coast Conference Beach Volleyball Tournament will be held April 23-24 at Ocean Park in Santa Monica, Calif.
2026 WEST COAST CONFERENCE BEACH VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
| School |
Points |
| 1. LMU (6) |
36 |
| 2. Pepperdine (1) |
30 |
| 3. Santa Clara |
27 |
| 4. Saint Mary’s |
20 |
| 5. San Francisco |
17 |
| 6. Pacific |
9 |
| 7. Portland |
8 |
2026 WEST COAST CONFERENCE BEACH VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON TEAM
| Name |
Institution |
| Hannah Couch |
Saint Mary’s |
| Emma Eden |
Pepperdine |
| Chloe Hooker |
LMU |
| Branson Lennon |
San Francisco |
| Anna Pelloia |
LMU |
| Gabriella Perez |
Pepperdine |
| Ines Piret |
LMU |
| Magdalena Rabitsch |
LMU |
| Tanon Rosenthal |
LMU |
| Sadie Snipes |
Santa Clara |