Big South Announces 2026 Preseason Men's Tennis Poll & Honors
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) - Longwood University has been unanimously voted the favorite in the annual Big South Conference men’s tennis preseason poll by the league’s head coaches, the conference office announced Thursday. In addition, LWU senior
Timéo Puech (Maisons-Alfort, France) was voted the Men’s Tennis Preseason Player of the Year. It is the first time the Lancer program finished in the top spot in both the preseason rankings as well as the top preseason individual award.
The Lancers earned the No. 1 spot in the 2026 poll with all four first-place votes and 16 points. Their previous best preseason rating was fourth (2019 and 2024). Defending Big South Champion
Gardner-Webb was second in the preseason ranking with 11 points, ahead of
Presbyterian College (8 points).
UNC Asheville landed in the fourth and final position with five points. New men’s tennis associate members
Bryant and
NJIT are not playing a conference schedule in 2026 and therefore not included in the preseason rankings.
During the 2025 fall season, Puech won the Big South Fall Singles Championship as the No. 3 seed to advance to the ITA Conference Masters Championship. After falling in the main draw, Puech reached the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket with a victory and bye. Last spring, he was voted First-Team All-Big South in both singles and doubles, as he finished with a team-leading 21-9 record in singles action (12-4 in duals) all at the No. 1 flight. Puech won his last four singles matches of the 2025 season and was 6-3 in his last 10. He also posted a 16-6 mark in doubles, including 9-4 in dual matches at the No. 1 position.
The 2026 men’s tennis season is scheduled to begin this Saturday, Jan. 17. The 2026 Big South Men’s Tennis Championship is slated for April 16-18 at the Lexington County Tennis Complex in Lexington, S.C., and all six men’s tennis playing members will compete in the conference tournament. The champion receives the Big South’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
2026 
MEN’S TENNIS PRESEASON POLL
| Rk - School (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - Longwood (4) |
16 |
| 2 - Gardner-Webb |
11 |
| 3 - Presbyterian College |
8 |
| 4 - UNC Asheville |
5 |
Note: points are based on a weighted system, with first-place votes receiving 4 points, followed by 3 points for second-place, and so on.