The nation's preseason No. 1 ranked team is also the favorite to take home the Big West men's volleyball regular season title, according to a vote of the league's six coaches in their annual preseason poll Thursday.

Hawai‘i, recognized as the top-ranked team in the AVCA preseason poll, received unanimous backing from the Big West coaches to win the 2020 title. The Warriors collected all six first place votes and 36 points. UC Santa Barbara finished in second place with 28 points, while two-time reigning national champion Long Beach State was third with 23 points. UC Irvine came in fourth place with 19 points, followed by CSUN (13) and UC San Diego (7).

UH, the preseason poll favorite for the first time in both the AVCA and Big West polls, retums three AVCA All-Americans from the 2019 season – senior opposite RADO PARAPUNOV (first team), junior libero GAGE WORSLEY (first team) and senior middle blocker PATRICK GASMAN (second team). In addition, the Warriors also bring back senior outside hitter COLTON COWELL, a key contributor to last year's 28-3 squad which won the Big West Tournament and reached the national championship match.
 
UC Santa Barbara finished 18-10 in 2019 and saw its national ranking rise as high as No. 3. The Gauchos have been tabbed fifth in the AVCA preseason poll, led by sophomore outside hitter RYAN WILCOX, the 2019 AVCA Division I-II  Newcomer of the Year and VolleyballMag.com Freshman of the Year. Wilcox and middle blocker BRANDON HICKS were both members of the Big West All-Freshman Team. UCSB also welcomes back a pair of key starters in senior opposite KEENAN SANDERS and senior setter RANDY DeWEESE.
 
Long Beach State posted a combined 56-3 record in its two national championship seasons to commemorate the first two years of Big West men's volleyball. Major pieces of those two title teams have graduated, giving the Beach a new look in 2020. Key holdovers include junior middle blocker SIMON ANDERSEN and junior outside hitter ETHAN SIEGFRIED. Andersen was a an All-Big West Honorable Mention selection in 2019. LBSU brings a 43-match home court winning streak into the 2020 season. The streak dates back to March 26, 2016. LBSU is ranked No. 4 in the AVCA Preseason poll.

UC Irvine, the host school for the 2020 Big West Tournament, is anchored by a pair of veteran leaders in senior middle blocker SCOTT STADICK and junior outside hitter JOEL SCHNEIDMILLER. Stadick has been one of the nation's top blockers throughout his career and was a VolleyballMag.com Honorable Mention All-American in 2019. Schneidmiller received AVCA Honorable Mention All-American acclaim last season. The Anteaters enter this season ranked No. 8 in the AVCA preseason poll.

CSUN returns a pair of Big West All-Freshman team members from a year ago in middle blocker DANIEL WETTER and setter TAYLOR ITTNER. The Matadors are ranked No. 13 in the AVCA preseason poll.

UC San Diego also placed two players on last year's All-Freshman Team –  middle blocker LOGAN CLARK and setter BLAKE CRISP.

The 2020 season gets underway on Sunday, December 29 when UC Irvine hosts Princeton.