GREENVILLE, SC – Following consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament for the first-time in program history, Francis Marion University was voted as the preseason favorite in the 2026 Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll, released on Wednesday (Aug. 19).
The Conference Carolinas East Division Champions earned 220 points and 10 of the possible 15 first-place votes. During the last eight weeks of the 2025 season, FMU was also included in the United Soccer Coaches poll, rising as high as No. 17. The Patriots also made their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance.
The 2025 Conference Carolinas Tournament champions Belmont Abbey College received five first place votes and 204 points to land in the second spot. UNC Pembroke comes in third overall in the poll with 192 points.
Young Harris College (166) placed fourth, followed by Chowan University (145), Converse University (142), Lees-McRae College (141), North Greenville University (118), Emmanuel University (115), Ferrum College (99), University of Mount Olive (88), Southern Wesleyan University (86), Barton College (82), King University (58), Erskine College (40) and Shorter University (24) round out the poll.
Fourth-year Francis Marion head coach Sam Holmes welcomes back 24 returners, including ten starters, from last year's historic 17-3-0 team. A trio of All-Americans lead the returnees including the reigning Conference Carolinas Offensive Player of the Year graduate student forward Tehya Dave', first-team all-region senior goalkeeper Erin Grabeel, and Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year junior defender Alana Hunt.
After racking-up 34 points (13 goals, 8 assists), which ranked 12th in NCAA Division II, Dave' also was named the Conference Carolinas 2025 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women's soccer and received first-team honors in the region and conference. Grabeel returns to FMU after ranking first in the league with a 0.403 goals-against average and recording 14 shutouts, which ranked third in the nation. Additionally, she garnered first-team all-conference honors, Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Week three times in 2025 and led the Conference Carolinas with 1786:04 goalie minutes played. Hunt was a dominant force in the backline and led the country with a .750 shutout percentage while also earning first-team all-region honors. She also garnered College Sports Communicators (CSC) First-Team Academic All-American status for her performance on the field and in the classroom.
Additional Patriots who garnered accolades include first-team all-region senior defender Joy Brockmann (two goals, four assists) and sophomore Madeline Ballard, who earned second-team all-region honors in the midfield.
The Patriots kick off their 2026 campaign at home on Thursday, Aug. 27, at 7 p.m. with a non-conference match against USC Aiken. Francis Marion begins league play the following week on the road against Chowan on Saturday, Sept. 5, starting at 4:30 p.m. FMU will play 17 scheduled matches, including nine home games on Hartzler Field.
The 2026 Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Championship is scheduled to start with preliminary rounds on October 28 and 31 before the semifinals and final will be competed at Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park in Browns Summit, North Carolina, on November 5 and 7.
