Shippensburg earns most votes from Division II college coaches; No. 1 team to beat in preseason field hockey poll
Shippensburg’s Anne Gardner looks to pass the ball in a PSAC conference game held at Shippensburg University. Photo: Bob Benscoter
The 2026 NCAA Division II field hockey season is getting ready to fire up another competitive season, especially between the top three ranked teams Shippensburg, Kutztown and Newberry.
The National Field Hockey Coaches Association published its preseason poll Tuesday. Coaches backed the reigning national champions as the team to beat at the start of the Fall season.
The then-No. 2 Raiders defeated No. 4 Newberry College 3-2 in overtime in the 2025 NCAA Division II National Championship game.
The title capped a season in which the Raiders also won the 2025 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship.
That PSAC crown came against an unbeaten Kutztown team, with Shippensburg earning a 2-1 win to secure back-to-back conference championships for the first time in program history.
Now, the Raiders begin their 2026 Fall season at Wingate against Belmont Abbey.
Kutztown, earning their own accolades, also claimed the No. 1 spot in the PSAC preseason poll and starts the season by hosting Saint Michael’s on Sept. 5 and Southern Connecticut State on Sept. 6.
Newberry also returns with a major storyline after a powerful 2025 season. The Wolves finished 20-1, with their only loss coming to Shippensburg in the national final.
The overtime defeat left Newberry as national runner-up for the first time in program history, but it also positioned the Wolves as one of the teams to watch heading into 2026.
Newberry’s roster also includes international experience. Ayanda Mangenah and Amber Tozana competed for Zimbabwe at the 2025 FIH Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile, in December 2025.
The Wolves open their season Sept. 4 at Barton College.
According to the NFHCA, “the poll is intended to provide a weekly snapshot of the nation’s top-performing programs based on results, strength of competition, and insight from the sport’s coaching community. Beginning after the second week of regular-season competition, teams must maintain a .500 record or better to be eligible for ranking consideration.
“These rankings reflect the collective assessment of the designated voting coaches each week and are designed to spotlight performance on a national scale. The Coaches Polls are independent of the NCAA Championship selection process and are not intended to predict or determine postseason qualification or seeding.”
Here is the list of DII college field hockey teams with the most votes from the NFHCA’s preseason coaches poll:
10. Lander
9. Bentley
8. Bloomsburg
7. Assumption
6. Saint Anselm
5. West Chester
4. East Stroudsburg
3. Newberry
2. Kutztown
1. Shippensburg
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