PORTLAND, Ore. – The Alaska Anchorage volleyball team has been picked fifth in the 2026 Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll, released Tuesday by the league office.

The Seawolves received 60 points in balloting by the league's 10 head coaches. Fellow defending GNAC co-champion Simon Fraser was a narrow pick to win the title with 90 points and two first-place votes, ahead of Central Washington (88 pts, six first-place votes) and Alaska Fairbanks (84 pts, two first-place). Western Washington was chosen fourth with 73 points. UAA, UAF, SFU and CWU all shared the GNAC crown in 2025 with 14-4 league marks.

UAA returns nine active letterwinners, including six full- or part-time starters – from last year's team that went 23-6 overall and made the NCAA Tournament.

The Seawolves make their regular-season debut Thursday with matches against Chaminade (3 pm ADT) and Hawaii Hilo (9 pm ADT) at the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge in Hilo. Find live links at GoSeawolves.com.

2026 Great Northwest Athletic Conference
Preseason Volleyball Coaches' Poll
Team (1st-place votes)    2025 Records       Pts
1. Simon Fraser (2)       20-5/14-4 (t-1st)  90
2. Central Washington (6) 19-8/14-4 (t-1st)  88
3. Alaska Fairbanks (2)   24-6/14-4 (t-1st)  84
4. Western Washington     19-7/13-5 (5th)    73
5. Alaska Anchorage       23-6/14-4 (t-1st)  60
6. Seattle Pacific        12-14/7-11 (t-6th) 41
7. Northwest Nazarene     6-19/5-13 (8th)    39
8. Saint Martin's         14-12/7-11 (t-6th) 38
9. Western Oregon         3-23/2-16 (9th)    26
10. MSU Billings          2-22/0-18 (10th)   11
Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis