The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association announced the Preseason Poll and Preseason All-MIVA Team for the 2026 season on Monday (Dec. 15). Ball State's Patrick Rogers was selected as the Preseason MIVA Player of the Year and Loyola Chicago was selected to repeat as MIVA Champions.

Rogers was named to the All-MIVA First Team in 2025 and was an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention. The pin hitter from Ball State was eighth in the conference with 3.43 kills per set in MIVA play. His .276 hitting percentage was good for 14th in the MIVA. He added 1.69 digs per set, 10th-best in the conference. He was selected as the Offensive Player of the Week after the first week of the season.

Loyola Chicago earned five first-place votes in the Preseason Poll, taking the top spot. The Ramblers tied with McKendree at 13-3 to share the regular season title. In the postseason, Loyola won nine straight sets to claim the Don Shondell MIVA Championship trophy before falling to Pepperdine in four sets in the NCAA Tournament. The Ramblers will look to replace back-to-back MIVA Player of the Year Parker Van Buren.

Ohio State, Ball State and Lewis also received first-place votes to round out the top-four of the Preseason Poll.

2026 Preseason Poll
1. Loyola Chicago - 73 (5)
2. Ohio State - 68 (2)
3. Ball State - 63 (1)
4. Lewis - 57 (1)
5. McKendree - 52
6. Lindenwood - 33
7. Purdue Fort Wayne - 24
8. Northern Kentucky - 19
9. Queens - 16

2026 Preseason All-MIVA Team (alphabetical by team)
Lucas Machado - Ball State
*Patrick Rogers - Ball State
Oguzhan Oguz - Lewis
Nico Paula - Lewis
Ryan McElligott - Loyola Chicago
Daniel Fabikovic - Loyola Chicago
Aleksander Sosa - Loyola Chicago
Yadiel Diaz - McKendree
Nate Flayter - McKendree
Stanislaw Chacinski - Ohio State
Shane Wetzel - Ohio State
Logan Muir - Purdue Fort Wayne

*Preseason Player of the Year