Four Big 12 schools are ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s (AVCA)/Taraflex Division I Preseason Coaches Poll, released Tuesday.

Texas is ranked No. 1 after winning the Big 12’s fourth volleyball national championship a season ago. The Longhorns earned 44 first-place votes. This is the third time in the last four seasons that UT has been ranked atop the preseason poll.

Baylor is No. 15, the sixth consecutive year the Bears have appeared in the preseason poll.

BYU is No. 17 and Houston is No. 19 to mark the first time since 2008 that the Big 12 has had four teams ranked inside the top 20 of the preseason poll.

Kansas, UCF, TCU and Iowa State received votes.

The season begins Aug. 25 with league matches commencing Sept. 20.

Opening weekend will feature Conference teams playing six matchups against ranked teams, including No. 2 Wisconsin (two times), No. 5 Pitt, No. 7 Minnesota (two times) and No. 22 Southern California. 

The Big 12 preseason Poll and Team were announced in July. The Longhorns were voted the favorite for the 13^th season in a row. Texas’ Madisen Skinner was named the league’s Preseason Player of the Year while fellow Longhorn Ella Swindle and Baylor’s Kyndal Stowers were named Co-Preseason Freshmen of the Year.

The Big 12 is one of only two leagues to have a team advance to the National Semifinals in three of the last four seasons (Baylor – 2019, Texas – 2020 & 2022). The Conference joined the Big Ten as the only leagues last year to have five or more teams in the NCAA tournament and go undefeated in the opening round (5-0). The Big 12 finished the regular season with the highest RPI of any league.

The full AVCA Preseason Poll can be found here.

Follow Big12Sports.com and the Conference’s official social media platforms for coverage throughout the season.