HOUSTON – HCU women's soccer was picked to finish tied for third in the 2026 Southland Conference preseason poll after winning the conference tournament championship in 2025 for the third time in program history.
The Huskies swept through the SLC tournament in 2025 as the fifth seed, earning a trip to Baton Rouge, La. to face LSU and scoring the program's first-ever NCAA postseason goal in the process. HCU won a program-record 12 games in year two under head coach Nick Whiting, finishing the season with a 12-9-2 record.
The 2026 Huskies return their top four goal-scorers from last season and seven starters from the team's postseason run at the SLC tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
HCU was picked in a tie for third in the poll, along with Lamar, with 74 points. Defending regular season champion Northwestern State claimed the poll's top spot with 96 points and seven first place vote. East Texas A&M came in second, just ahead of HCU and Lamar, with 76 points.
Full SLC Preseason Poll
1. Northwestern State (7), 96 points
2. East Texas A&M, 76 points
T-3. Lamar (2), 74 points
T-3. HCU (1), 74 points
5. SFA (1), 66 points
6. Southeastern, 65 points
7. A&M-Corpus Christi, 51 points
8. UIW, 37 points
9. McNeese, 26 points
T-10. Nicholls, 20 points
T-10. UTRGV, 20 points
