For the first time in Big West history, the league is sending three teams to the 2026 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship. The expanded 12-team bracket features two regional hosts from the league as The Big West comprises a quarter of the selections.
The top four teams are seeded at four regional sites of competition with both Big West Championship finalists serving as hosts of the May 1 regional round and the May 2 regional finals. Each advancing regional site victor will move on to the Championship final site to compete on May 9 and 11 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
No. 3 seed and Big West champion Long Beach State (24-4, 8-2 BW) and is making a 16th all-time appearance in the postseason field and a sixth since Big West sports sponsorship. The defending national champion is looking for a fourth title since 2018, hoping to hoist another set of back-to-back trophies.
LBSU outlasted Hawai’i in an epic five-setter for the title last night with freshman and Championship Most Valuable Player Wojciech Gajek powering down 27 kills on .489 hitting with six blocks, five digs and three aces en route to the trophy.
The Beach draw regional hosting duties with at-large team Loyola Chicago (20-8, 12-4 MIVA) taking on winners of the NEC, Saint Francis (18-11, 10-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. from LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid. Then, the Beach are waiting in the wings for Saturday’s 6 o’clock first serve as LBSU begins their title defense. Dating back to 2010, Long Beach State is a combined 14-0 against their prospective regional finals opponents.
No. 2 seed Hawai’i (27-5, 9-1 BW) earned an at-large selection and sees their name in the national collegiate brackets for the 10th time, and sixth in the last in the last seven contested championships. The Big West regular-season victors saw five players on the All-Big West teams this season – tops in the league – with a potent offense directed by AVCA Player of the Year semifinalist in setter Tread Rosenthal dishing the ball to weapons Kristian Titriyski, Louis Sakanoko and Adrien Roure with Quintin Greenidge holding down the back line.
The Rainbow Warriors await the winner of the first regional contest between at-large selection Southern California (19-7, 9-5 MPSF) and Belmont Abbey (20-5, 13-1), the automatic qualifier out of Conference Carolinas. UH boasts a 24-13 all-time record over USC with the last five meetings coming on O’ahu. The Trojans took the last meeting 3-1 in 2025. The ’Bows also faced off with Belmont Abbey a season ago, a sweeping victory in UH’s favor in just their second ever matchup. UH plays their regional finals match on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT/4 p.m. HT.
Hawai’i and Long Beach State are on the same side of the 12-team bracket, setting up the potential for a national semifinal rematch between the Beach and the ’Bows on May 9.
Finally, UC Irvine (18-8, 5-5 BW) earned entry into the field for a 9th time in program history and the third in The Big West era. The Anteaters open regional play against EIVA champion Penn State (22-7, 12-0 EIVA) on Friday at 6 o’clock.
UCI started the 2026 campaign on a tear, winning 11 consecutive to set a program record, highlighted by road wins at then No. T-3 and postseason selection Pepperdine and a pair a five-set victories at then-No. 8 BYU.
The Anteaters placed two on the All-Big West team with seven-time Freshman of the Week Andrej Jokanovic averaging team bests of 3.45 kills and 4.16 points per set and 45 service aces on the season thus far leading the way. The Nittany Lions are led by conference Player of the Year Sean Harvey, who enters the national postseason averaging 3.59 kills and 4.27 points per set on .332 hitting.
The last meeting between the two sides came in the 2024 national collegiate bracket when fourth-seeded UCI swept through Penn State in the opening round of the Championship hosted by Long Beach State.
The victor between the Anteaters and Nittany Lions advances to take on top-seeded UCLA (29-1, 13-1 MPSF) in the regional final, who are unbeaten at home. The lone blemish on their record came at then-No. 6 Pepperdine on April 6.
The powerhouse Big West is looking to continue the success well into the month of May when the final four squads converge on the campus of UCLA May 9-11.
Taking home the first four national championships when The Big West began sponsoring men’s volleyball in 2018 and a fifth in 2025, the league is looking to continue its strength on the national stage in 2026. With the Beach and the ’Bows claiming back-to-back national collegiate titles around the pandemic-shortened 2024 season and LBSU reigning supreme in the latest edition, The Big West has enjoyed at least one national finalist in each of the last seven seasons.