ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - Cal State Dominguez Hills has been selected as the favorite in the 2026 CCAA Men's Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll as the Toros look to capture their third consecutive conference regular-season championship.
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills collected 155 points and five first-place votes to narrowly edge defending CCAA Tournament champion Stanislaus State. The Warriors received four first-place votes and 148 points to finish just seven points behind the Toros. Cal Poly Pomona placed third with 142 points and two first-place votes.

Men's Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll
Teams	Points
Cal State Dominguez Hills (5)	155
Stanislaus State (4)	148
Cal Poly Pomona (2)	142
Cal State LA (1)	137
Cal State San Bernardino (1)	119
Cal State East Bay	96
Cal State San Marcos	90
Chico State	69
Cal State Monterey Bay	62
Menlo	60
Fresno Pacific	47
UC Merced	31
Cal Poly Humboldt	27
First-place votes in parenthesis

Cal State LA received one first-place vote and finished fourth with 137 points, while Cal State San Bernardino collected the final first-place vote and 119 points to round out the top five. Five different programs earned at least one first-place vote and just 36 points separating the top five teams.
 
Cal State East Bay was picked sixth with 96 points, followed by Cal State San Marcos (90), Chico State (69) and Cal State Monterey Bay (62). New CCAA member Menlo College was selected 10th with 60 points, while fellow newcomer Fresno Pacific was 11th with 47. UC Merced (31) and Cal Poly Humboldt (27) completed the 13-team poll.
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills enters 2026 looking for its third consecutive CCAA regular-season championship. The Toros went unbeaten in conference play for the second straight year (21 matches), recording an 8-0-2 record (12-4-4 overall) to finish with 26 points and edge Stanislaus State by one point for the title. CSUDH also earned the No. 2 seed in NCAA Super Region 4 and hosted postseason competition at Toro Stadium. The Toros enter the 2026 season ranked No. 20 in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Preseason Poll.
 
Stanislaus State climbed from eighth in the 2025 preseason poll to second this season after putting together one of the best campaigns in program history. The Warriors finished 8-1-1 in CCAA play (17-2-1 overall) and were just one point behind CSU Dominguez Hills in the regular-season standings. Stan State then defeated Cal State East Bay and Cal State San Marcos without allowing a goal to claim its first CCAA Tournament Championship since 2012. The Warriors carried that success into the NCAA postseason, earning their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2012 and advancing to the third round. Stanislaus State also spent two weeks ranked No. 1 nationally and established a program record with a 14-match unbeaten streak. The Warriors will begin 2026 ranked No. 5 in the nation, the highest preseason ranking in program history.
 
Cal Poly Pomona was voted third as the Broncos look to bounce back from an eighth-place conference finish in 2025. CPP went 7-6-5 last season (2-5-3 CCAA) after entering the year as the preseason favorite. Just one season earlier, the Broncos went 13-2-7, shared the CCAA regular-season championship and advanced to the CCAA Tournament championship match and NCAA postseason. CPP received two first-place votes in this year's poll.
 
Cal State LA earned one first-place vote and 137 points overall. The Golden Eagles finished third in the CCAA standings last season with a 5-3-2 conference record (8-4-7 overall). Cal State LA qualified for the CCAA Tournament for the 14th consecutive season and earned its eighth straight trip to the NCAA Championships.
 
Cal State San Bernardino rounded out the top preseason five after going 9-3-8 overall and 4-2-4 in CCAA play last season. The Coyotes earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Championships and advanced to the second round, marking their first NCAA postseason appearance since 2019. CSUSB is also receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches national preseason poll.
 
Cal State East Bay was selected sixth after reaching the CCAA Tournament semifinals in 2025. The Pioneers finished tied for fourth in the conference standings with 16 points and earned the No. 6 seed in the postseason. Cal State East Bay then defeated third-seeded Cal State LA, 2-1, in the first round before its run ended against Stanislaus State in the semifinals.
 
Cal State San Marcos follows in seventh after making a run to the 2025 CCAA Tournament championship match. The fifth-seeded Cougars advanced past Cal State San Bernardino on penalty kicks before upsetting regular-season champion Cal State Dominguez Hills, 3-2, in overtime in the semifinals. CSUSM finished the season 7-8-5 overall and 5-4-1 in CCAA play.
 
Chico State was picked eighth after going 5-7-4 overall and 3-4-3 in CCAA play last season. Cal State Monterey Bay followed in ninth after posting a 4-8-3 overall record.
 
Menlo College and Fresno Pacific will begin their first seasons as members of the CCAA. Menlo finished 11-4-2 overall and 5-3-2 in the PacWest last season, while Fresno Pacific went 7-9-2 overall and finished fourth in its final PacWest season with a 6-3-1 conference mark.
 
The two institutions officially joined the CCAA on July 1, 2026, expanding the conference to 14 members and men's soccer to 13 competing programs. The additions will also expand the CCAA Men's Soccer Tournament to seven teams beginning this season.
 
UC Merced was voted 12th as the Bobcats enter their second season competing on a CCAA men's soccer schedule, while Cal Poly Humboldt was selected 13th.
 
The 2026 men's soccer season kicks off Thursday, Aug. 27, with multiple CCAA teams in action. Conference play starts Friday, Sept. 18. Cal State Dominguez Hills will open its pursuit of a third straight regular-season title at UC Merced, while Stanislaus State will host Cal State Monterey Bay. The top two teams in the preseason poll will then meet Sunday, Sept. 20, when the Warriors host the Toros in Turlock.
 
All CCAA home contests will once again be available live and on-demand through FloCollege at GoCCAA.org/FloCollege.