In a closely contested battle for the top spot, California Lutheran has edged out Pomona-Pitzer for first in the 2026 Women's Soccer Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.

The Regals collected four first-place votes and 76 points to lead the way, while the Sagehens trail just behind at 73 points. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps also garnered one first-place vote and tallied 67 points, good for third place.  

Winner of the 2025 SCIAC Tournament, Cal Lutheran will bring back three of its four First Team All-SCIAC players from last year in Tessa French, Stephanie Hackett, and Olivia Suarez. French and Suarez have returned for their fifth years, while Hackett will look to build on her Newcomer of the Year campaign. Suarez was the Regals' top contributor offensively, scoring six goals and adding three assists in 2025. Her 15 points ranked fifth in the conference. Hackett also found the back of the net four times last season, including a brace against Whittier. French scored four goals as well, while leading a defense that allowed just 14 goals all season. As a team, Cal Lutheran won its first two games of the NCAA Tournament. 

Pomona-Pitzer earned a trip to last year's conference tournament championship match before making a run to the NCAA Tournament Sectional Finals. Amongst key returners for the Sagehens are Vivian Rojas Collins, Sabina Peterson Rajalingam, and Ava Watanabe, all of whom were All-SCIAC players in 2025. Rojas Collins was also the conference's Defensive Athlete of the Year after anchoring a defense that allowed a SCIAC-best six goals on the year. Additionally, she tallied four goals and two assists on the offensive side of the ball. Peterson Rajalingam ranked second in the SCIAC with eight goals on the season, while Watanabe scored twice and assisted twice. 

The Athenas, who claimed an at-large bid to last year's NCAA Tournament, are set to feature a trio of 2025 All-SCIAC players in Ava Allen, Flora Glantz, and Jordan Yates. Yates was the team's leading goal scorer last season with eight goals, highlighted by braces against both UC Santa Cruz and Redlands. Just behind her in the goals tally was Glantz, who found the back of the net four times and assisted once. Allen was a key piece on the back line, helping CMS limit its opponents to just 12 goals all year. 

2026 SCIAC Women's Soccer Preseason Poll
California Lutheran - 76 points (four first-place votes)
Pomona-Pitzer - 73 points (four first-place votes)
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps - 67 points (one first-place vote)
Chapman - 53 points
Occidental - 38 points
La Verne - 36 points
Whittier - 33 points
Redlands - 20 points
Caltech - 10 points
Azusa Pacific*
* - Ineligible for SCIAC Championship as school transitions from Division II