COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Shenandoah University field hockey team opens up the 2026 season as the 20th ranked team in the 2026 Penn Motto/NFHCA Division III National Poll, in a release from the coaches association on Tuesday morning.

The Hornets, who received a third-place ranking in the ODAC Preseason rankings, are one of three ODAC teams in the national poll, joining the University of Lynchburg and Washington and Lee University. Lynchburg is 18th in the opening poll, while Washington and Lee is 23rd.

Shenandoah has appeared in the poll for the last 50 editions, while being ranked 20th or higher in the last 40 rankings.

The season begins a week from today with a 7 p.m. home game against Thomas College on September 1.

PENN MOTTO/NFHCA PRESEASON POLL

1 Tufts University 450 (18)
2 Johns Hopkins University 437 (0)
3 Babson College 418 (1)
4 Christopher Newport University 407 (0)
5 Bates College 359 (0)
5 Salisbury University 359 (0)
7 Middlebury College 336 (0)
8 Wesleyan University 311 (0)
9 Dickinson College 258 (0)
10 Endicott College 255 (0)
11 Williams College 235 (0)
12 Hamilton College 224 (0)
12 Stevens Institute of Technology 224 (0)
14 Rowan University 222 (0)
15 Bowdoin College 211 (0)
16 Franklin & Marshall College 172 (0)
17 Stevenson University 162 (0)
18 University of Lynchburg 159 (0)
19 Amherst College 142 (0)
20 Shenandoah University 90 (0)
21 Haverford College 83 (0)
22 Messiah University 82 (0)
23 Washington and Lee University 75 (0)
24 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 73 (0)
25 The College of New Jersey 58 (0)

#GoSUHornets