Wisconsin volleyball picked to finish second in Big Ten in 2026

Wisconsin volleyball is once again expected to be in the upper echelon of the Big Ten.

Big Ten coaches picked the Badgers to finish second in the 2026 preseason poll, the conference announced on July 30. Kelly Sheffield’s team only trails Nebraska, which was a unanimous first-place pick in the poll.

Wisconsin setter Charlie Fuerbringer and middle blocker Jaela Auguste were among the 19 athletes on the preseason all-conference team. Fuerbringer was a second-team all-Big Ten selection in 2024 and a first-team all-Big Ten selection in 2025. Auguste transferred from Florida, where she was a third-team All-American in 2025.

The Badgers‘ predicted second-place finish follows their fifth Final Four trip in a seven-year span in 2025. They lost several key players from that team, however, either via graduation or the transfer portal. The 2026 roster includes nine freshmen and two transfers.

UW will not have a home-court advantage for many of its matches against other top-tier Big Ten teams. First-place Nebraska, fourth-place Purdue and fifth-place Minnesota will all be road matches. Third-place Penn State will visit the Field House on Nov. 8, though.

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1. Nebraska

2. Wisconsin

3. Penn State

4. Purdue

5. Minnesota

6. Indiana

7. USC

8. Oregon

9. UCLA

10. Illinois

11. Michigan

12. Michigan State

13. Washington

14. Northwestern

15. Iowa

16. Ohio State

17. Rutgers

18. Maryland

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin volleyball picked to finish second in Big Ten in 2026