The Northwest Conference men's soccer coaches have selected the Whitman Blues as the preseason favorite to claim the 2026 NWC title, receiving seven first-place votes and 63 total points in the annual preseason coaches poll.
Whitman enters the 2026 season as the defending NWC champion after finishing the 2025 season undefeated in conference play with a 13-0-3 record and a 14-1-6 overall mark. The Blues secured the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship following their championship season.
Pacific Lutheran was picked second in the 2026 preseason poll with 58 points, including two first-place votes. Puget Sound follows in third with 43 points, while Willamette was selected fourth with 42 points.
Whitworth earned 39 points to rank fifth, followed by George Fox with 27 points and Pacific with 23 points. Linfield was picked eighth with 20 points, while Lewis & Clark rounded out the poll with nine points.
The 2026 Northwest Conference men's soccer regular season is scheduled to begin Wednesday, September 16. The regular-season champion will earn the NWC’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Tournament.
Numbers in parentheses indicate first-place votes. Points are awarded on an 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Coaches could not vote for their own teams.
2026 NWC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
|
Rank
|
Team
|
Points
|
|
1.
|
Whitman (7)
|
63
|
|
2.
|
Pacific Lutheran (2)
|
58
|
|
3.
|
Puget Sound
|
43
|
|
4.
|
Willamette
|
42
|
|
5.
|
Whitworth
|
39
|
|
6.
|
George Fox
|
27
|
|
7.
|
Pacific
|
23
|
|
8.
|
Linfield
|
20
|
|
9.
|
Lewis & Clark
|
9
|