Newtown, Pa. (Field Hockey) - The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth coaches have released their preseason poll ahead of the 2026 field hockey season, and defending conference champion Stevenson is the favorite to defend its first-ever title.
Stevenson claimed six of the nine possible first-place votes and totaled 61 points to top the preseason poll. The Mustangs enter the season looking to build on a historic 2025 campaign that included their first MAC Commonwealth title, a 1-0 win over Messiah in the championship match.
York and Messiah tied for second with 55 points apiece, with York picking up two first-place votes to Messiah's one. Hood was picked fourth with 38 points, followed by Widener in fifth at 36.
The full preseason order: Stevenson (61 points, 6 first-place votes), York and Messiah (tied, 55 each), Hood (38), Widener (36), Alvernia (32), Neumann (20), Eastern (19) and Albright (8).
2026 MAC Commonwealth Season Preview
Stevenson enters the fall as the team to beat after a season that rewrote the program's record book — its first No. 1 seed, first time hosting the MAC Commonwealth Championship, first conference title, and first NCAA Tournament appearance, all punctuated by a 1-0 win over Messiah in the title game. Tournament MVP Hailey Mertz, who scored the championship-winning goal, graduates, but the Mustangs return a deep and dangerous group in sophomore-turned-junior Coco Wallace, junior-turned-senior goalkeeper Jordan Vradenburgh and junior-turned-senior midfielder Shae Bennett, along with first-year-turned-sophomore Kailen Hibshman, who scored twice in the semifinal win over Hood. That kind of returning production makes Stevenson the clear favorite to defend its crown.
York and Messiah sit right behind at a tied second, setting up a fascinating three-way race at the top. Messiah reached the championship match as the No. 3 seed after knocking off York in the semifinals, a reminder that seeding alone won't tell the story in 2026. The Falcons will need to replace reigning MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year Lillian Peters, a First Team senior who anchored the league's top defense before graduating, but Messiah's tournament pedigree — 29 conference titles and 34 championship-game appearances in program history — keeps the Falcons squarely in the mix. York, which won the head-to-head tiebreaker for the No. 2 seed a year ago, returns to the poll in position to push for its own title shot.
Hood and Widener round out the group looking to crack the top of the standings, with Hood coming off its first MAC Tournament appearance since 2001 and its most conference wins in that same span — a foundation the Blazers will look to build on. Widener returns after a 10-7 season that had the Pride flirting with a tournament bid.
Further down the poll, Alvernia, Neumann, Eastern and Albright could be chasing that fifth and final tournament spot. Alvernia returns reigning MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year Ava Michael, a junior-turned-senior forward who piled up 18 goals and five assists last fall, along with Second Team honorees Kelsy McClintock and sophomore-turned-junior defender Sarah Schaffer. Albright brings back 2025 MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the Year Bobbie Van Oordt, a first-year standout now heading into her sophomore season. With the new play-in format putting extra weight on the four and five seeds, every result down the stretch could carry postseason implications for this group.
2025 MAC Commonwealth Championship Notes
Stevenson entered the 2025 MAC Commonwealth Tournament as the No. 1 seed after a 6-1 run through conference play and a 19-2 overall record, and the Mustangs capped a historic season by claiming their first-ever conference title, defeating No. 3 seed Messiah 1-0 in the championship match — also the program's first-ever win over the Falcons. Hailey Mertz scored the game's only goal just under 13 minutes in off an assist from Kailen Hibshman, and goalkeeper Jordan Vradenburgh made eight saves to preserve the shutout despite Stevenson being outshot 19-7. Mertz was named MAC Commonwealth Tournament MVP after scoring twice in the postseason, including the title-clinching goal. Stevenson advanced to the final with a 4-1 win over Hood in the semifinals, while Messiah upset No. 2 seed York to reach the championship. The win sent Stevenson to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
2026 Season Schedule
- Season opener: September 1, 2026
- Conference play begins: October 3, 2026
- Postseason format: The top five teams in the MAC Commonwealth standings will qualify for the conference tournament
- Play-in game (No. 4 vs. No. 5): November 2, 2026
- Semifinals: November 4, 2026
- Championship: November 7, 2026