NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball Preseason Poll | NJCAA Division 2 Volleyball Preseason Poll
CHARLOTTE, NC – With action officially set to begin later this week, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) has released the preseason NJCAA Division 1 and Division 2 Volleyball polls, with six teams from the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference earning a preseason ranking.
All five teams that qualified for their respective NJCAA National Tournaments last year are ranked in the preseason polls, along with NJCAA Division 1 Plains District Tournament runner-up Colby Community College. Four of the six ranked teams from the KJCCC are ranked in the NJCAA Division 2 preseason poll, with two KJCCC teams represented in the NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball preseason poll.
The highest-ranked KJCCC teams come within the NJCAA Division 2 preseason poll, led by Cowley College, which was picked preseason number two behind only reigning National Champion Heartland Community College, as the Tigers are coming off a fourth-place finish in the NJCAA Division 2 Volleyball National Tournament. Joining Cowley in the top five of the preseason poll is 2025 NJCAA Division 2 Volleyball National Runners-Up Kansas City Kansas, with the Blue Devils ranked number four after earning their best finish at the national tournament in program history and going 27-6 overall. Johnson County gives the KJCCC a third team ranked in the top 10 after checking in at number nine preseason after winning the 2025 NJCAA Division 2 Volleyball Plains District B tournament title and advancing to the NJCAA Division 2 Volleyball National Tournament for a sixth-straight season. Neosho County is ranked number 19 in the preseason poll after advancing to the NJCAA Division 2 Volleyball National Tournament and is coming off a 22-13 mark last year, which included a win over National Champion Heartland Community College.
Within the NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball preseason poll, reigning KJCCC regular season and NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball Plains District tournament champion Barton Community College has earned the number 13 ranking in the preseason poll after making their 25th all-time appearance at the NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball National Tournament. The Cougars went 31-7 last season and are joined by Colby Community College from the KJCCC, as the Trojans were picked preseason number 16 in the preseason poll after going 24-7 last year and just missing out on a third consecutive trip to the NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball National Tournament.
Just two conference teams will be in action on the first day of competition (Thursday, August 20th) as Johnson County Community College will get the honor of kicking off the season at 12 PM (CDT) with their first of their two matchups on opening day at the NJCAA Season Opening Tournament in Rockford, IL. The Cavaliers will take on Lake Michigan College before facing off with number 13 Grand Rapids Community College at 5 PM. Also taking the court on opening day will be Seward County, with the Saints taking on McCook Community College in a neutral-\ site contest held at North Platte Community College as part of a season-opening tournament hosted by the Knights. Action then picks up on Friday with 34 scheduled matches before seeing another 33 matches take place on Saturday to conclude an opening weekend that will feature 70 total matches for the 19 volleyball schools in the conference.
