SUWANEE, Ga. - In exclusive voting by the league's head coaches, Hendrix landed in third in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference 2026 Preseason Poll, the conference office announced on Monday.

Brittany Newberry's squad received one first-place vote in the polling, with St. Thomas (Texas) and Colorado College leading the way in the voting.

Hendrix is coming off one of the better seasons in program history in which they finished in a three-way tie for first to end the 2025 season and clinch a share of the regular season championship. The Warriors return most of the group that went 13-3 in the SCAC during a 19-7 campaign, including Ana Bastos and Riley Brady, who were two of the top hitters in the SCAC last season.

Hendrix will begin the year as Road Warriors with a tough non-conference slate that features four teams who earned NCAA playoff berths last season. The 2026 season starts in Bloomington, Illinois as the Warriors take on Monmouth, Dubuque, and the hosts, Illinois Wesleyan. Conference play begins on September 25 as Hendrix heads to Clarksville for an in-state match with Ozarks, with the home slate commencing the following day with LeTourneau coming to Conway.

SCAC Preseason Poll
1. St. Thomas (7) - 96
2. Colorado College (2) - 88
3. Hendrix (1) - 82
4. Austin College -70
5. LeTourneau - 57
6. Texas Lutheran - 55
7. Concordia Texas - 40
T-8. - Dallas - 24
T-8. - Ozarks - 24
10. Centenary - 14