FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- The National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) released its 2026 Preseason Coaches' Poll. Fairmont State was voted sixth going into the season. The Falcons were the fifth-seed in the NCATA National Championships last season hosted by Augustana University.
Baylor received 39 of 44 first-place votes during preseason balloting. The Bears are coming off a 12-0 campaign that ended with a 276.015-266.355 victory over Oregon in the 2025 National Championship meet.
Oregon and Quinnipiac checked-in at No. 2 and No. 3 in this year's preseason poll, with each team receiving two first-place tallies. Second-year program Iona took the No. 4 spot, followed by Augustana rounding out the top five.
Fairmont State was voted at No. 6, followed by Duquesne, UMHB, Gannon and Azusa Pacific rounding out the top 10. The bottom third of the preseason rankings began with Saint Leo at No. 11, followed by Glenville State, Hawaii Pacific, Lander and first-year program La Salle.
After a weather postponement for Sunday's Morgan State-LIU meet, the 2026 NCATA regular season gets underway on Friday, Feb. 6 with Baylor traveling to Saint Leo in a matchup of nationally ranked teams. Action continues over the weekend with Fairmont State hosting a tri-meet on Saturday (Feb. 7), and Oregon facing Missouri State on Sunday (Feb. 8).
2026 NCATA Preseason Coaches Poll (Jan. 30, 2026)
- Baylor (39)
- Oregon (2)
- Quinnipiac (2)
- Iona
- Augustana
- Fairmont State
- Duquesne
- UMHB
- Gannon
- Azusa Pacific
- Saint Leo
- Glenville State
- Hawaii Pacific
- Lander
- La Salle
( ) - 1st-place votes
*One unranked team received a 1st-place vote
**44 of 47 competing institutions submitted a preseason ballot
