Penn State is once again the favorite to win the EIVA in 2026, and once again that was the unanimous opinion of the conference’s coaches.
The Nittany Lions were listed first on all seven ballots from EIVA head coaches in results released Dec. 22, 2025. NJIT finished second in voting while George Mason was third and Princeton placed fourth, with little agreement on the rest of the list.
This marks the sixth consecutive season Penn State has taken the top spot in the coaches’ preseason balloting, and the second straight year the Lions were a unanimous choice. Penn State was the EIVA tournament champion for a third season in a row in 2025 and has won 37 conference titles overall.
The Nittany Lions, who return four starters, finished third in the regular-season standings before winning the 2025 tournament. They had an uncharacteristic 15-16 record, 8-4 in the EIVA, marking the first sub-.500 record since the program was officially elevated to varsity status in 1977.
The 2026 campaign will be the last for head coach Mark Pavlik, who announced Dec. 4 the upcoming season will be his last as the Lions’ leader. Pavlik has guided Penn State to 25 EIVA crowns and NCAA tournament appearances, four trips to the national title match and the 2008 national championship. He has won 74 percent of his matches with a 694-241 career record – the fourth-most wins among men’s coaches all time and best among active coaches.
The first match of the season for teams is Jan. 2 with NJIT visiting Hawaii and all of the conference programs will play their first matches by Jan. 12. The conference tournament will be held April 22-25 at the home of the regular-season champion.
In addition to the preseason poll, EIVA coaches also selected two players to watch from their programs.
EIVA Players to Watch in 2026 as selected by coaches:
Charleston: Lucas Torres (Sr., PIN), Kai Cousins (So., OH)
George Mason: Liam French (R-Sr., OH), Alex Lillie (So., MB)
Harvard: Zach Berty (Sr., OH), Brian Thomas (Sr., OH)
NJIT: Diego Lopez (Jr., L), Andrew Fedmasu (Sr., MB)
Penn State: Owen Rose (R-Sr., MB), Ryan Merk (R-Sr., L)
Princeton: Ryan Vena (Sr., MB), Mason Rice (So., OH)
Sacred Heart: Aleksa Mandic (Jr., OH), Harryzen Soares (So., L)
2026 EIVA Preseason Coaches’ Poll
| Rank |
Team (First-place votes) |
Points |
2025 Record |
| 1 |
Penn State (7) |
49 |
15-16, 8-4 |
| 2 |
NJIT |
34 |
14-13, 8-4 |
| 3 |
George Mason |
32 |
16-13, 6-6 |
| 4 |
Princeton |
26 |
15-11, 10-2 |
| T-5 |
Charleston |
22 |
12-17, 5-7 |
| T-5 |
Harvard |
22 |
9-15, 5-7 |
| 7 |
Sacred Heart |
11 |
6-17, 0-12 |