PRINCETON, N.J. – A year after earning two bids to the NCAA Tournament — including Princeton nabbing the third overall seed — Ivy league men's soccer returns this weekend as Princeton was picked to repeat as regular season champions in the preseason poll following a vote by the media.
The Tigers took the first-place spot after receiving 123 points and 14 first-place votes. The Tigers enter the season looking to defend their regular season and tournament titles from a season ago. Princeton earned the third overall seed in the NCAA Tournament last season.
Cornell was the only other team to receive a first-place vote, garnering two of them for a total of 111 points. Cornell finished 5-1-1 in Ivy League play last season and earned a runner-up finish in the Ivy League Tournament. Cornell claimed an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament, defeating Lafayette in the opening round, 4-0.
Penn and Harvard, the third and fourth seeds, respectively, in the Ivy League Tournament last season, were picked to finish in the same spots in 2026 as Brown, Dartmouth, Yale, and Columbia rounded out the rest of the poll.
The Ivy League men’s soccer season is set to begin on Friday, August 28 with six teams in action on opening day.
2026 Ivy League Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
| Place |
Team |
Points (First Place Votes) |
| 1. |
Princeton |
123 (14) |
| 2. |
Cornell |
111 (2) |
| 3. |
Penn |
94 |
| 4. |
Harvard |
79 |
| 5. |
Brown |
59 |
| 6. |
Dartmouth |
41 |
| 7. |
Yale |
39 |
| 8. |
Columbia |
30 |