Reigning PBC Women’s Soccer Tournament champions Columbus State have been voted as the preseason favorites to win the 2026 title. The Cougars received three first-place votes from the league’s coaches. Reigning PBC Regular Season champions North Georgia have been tabbed to finish second, receiving six first-place votes. Lander has been chosen to finish in third place, with GCSU rounding out the top four and receiving one first-place vote from the league’s coaches. Flagler completes the top five, followed in order by USC Beaufort, USCA, Georgia Southwestern, Clayton State and Middle Georgia.
Columbus State claimed its third consecutive PBC Tournament title in 2025 and 11th in program history. The Cougars earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Southeast Region and closed their season with a 14-6-1 overall record. Four Columbus State players earned USC All-Southeast Region honors, with graduating senior Sarah Hungerford earning USC All-American honors for the second consecutive season. Hungerford and teammate Kelsey Croft also earned USC Scholar All-American honors. The Cougars return four PBC All-Conference selections to the 2026 roster and enter the season receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches preseason rankings.
Reigning PBC Regular Season champions North Georgia have been selected to finish second in 2026. The Nighthawks are coming off a perfect conference season, going 10-0 in PBC play in 2025. North Georgia earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Southeast Region, where they defeated Anderson in the first round before falling in the second round to close the season with an 18-3-1 record. For 2026, North Georgia returns four PBC All-Conference selections. The Nighthawks enter the season ranked No. 14 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason rankings.
Lander has been voted to finish in third place for the 2026 season. The Bearcats closed out PBC play in second place with an 8-1-1 record. Lander received the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Southeast Region, where they knocked off No. 4 Francis Marion and No. 1 Catawba, advancing to and hosting the NCAA Southeast Region Final for the first time in program history. The Bearcats fell to Lenoir-Rhyne and ended their season with a 14-4-2 overall record. Lander returns all four PBC All-Conference selections and enters the season ranked No. 20 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason rankings.
GCSU has been chosen to finish fourth in the PBC in 2026. The Bobcats closed out the 2025 season tied for fourth and hosted the first round of the PBC Tournament. PBC Freshman of the Year Kaisa Fagerström highlights GCSU’s returning class.
The preseason coaches’ poll is below, followed by the 2026 PBC women's soccer preseason all-conference team. Coaches were not permitted to rank their own teams or vote for their own players.
| Rank |
Team |
Points |
| 1. |
Columbus State (3) |
73 |
| 2. |
North Georgia (6) |
71 |
| 3. |
Lander |
66 |
| 4. |
GCSU (1) |
57 |
| 5. |
Flagler |
53 |
| 6. |
USC Beaufort |
39 |
| 7. |
USCA |
36 |
| 8. |
Georgia Southwestern |
24 |
| 9. |
Clayton State |
18 |
| 10. |
Middle Georgia |
13 |
PBC Women's Soccer Preseason All-Conference
Payton Conti, Columbus State Senior, Forward
- Played 19 matches, starting 17
- Scored 7 goals with four assists for 18 points
- Recorded three game-winning goals
Kelsey Croft, Columbus State
Senior, Defender/ Midfielder
- Played and started all 21 matches
- PBC All-Conference First Team
- United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region First Team
- United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Second Team
Mia Robinson, Columbus State
Junior, Forward
- Played 20 matches, starting 16
- Scored 9 goals and assisted 5 for 23 points
- Recorded three game-winning goals
- PBC All-Conference Second Team
- PBC All-Tournament Team
- D2CIDA National Player of the Week
- United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region Second Team
Avery Raimondo, Flagler
Senior, Midfielder
- Played 20 matches, starting 15
- Scored 3 goals and assisted 2
- Totaled 1,156 minutes on the season
Kaisa Fagerström, GCSU
Sophomore, Defender
- Started all 17 matches as a freshman
- Scored three goals, adding one assist
- PBC All-Conference First Team
- PBC Freshman of the Year
- D2CCA Second Team All-Southeast Region
Leah Hayes Coen, Lander
Junior, Goalkeeper
- Played and started in 19 matches
- Allowed just 13 goals on the season, with 0.77 goals against average
- Recorded 7 shutouts on the season
- PBC All-Conference First Team
- United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-Southeast Region
Blanca Cruz, North Georgia
Junior, Forward
- Played 22 matches, starting 1
- Scored 9 goals and assisted 4 for 22 points
- Led the PBC with 4 game-winning goals
- PBC All-Conference First Team
- D2CIDA National Player of the Week
- D2CCA Second Team All-Southeast Region
- United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-Southeast Region
Chloe Diaz, North Georgia
Senior, Midfielder
- Played and started all 22 matches
- Scored 3 goals and assisted 6 for 12 points
- Scored 3 game-winning goals
- PBC All-Conference First Team
- United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Southeast Region
- D2CCA Second Team All-Southeast Region
- United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Second Team
Nina Lopez, North Georgia
Junior, Midfielder
- Played and started all 22 matches
- Scored 9 goals adding 7 assists for 25 points
- PBC All-Conference First Team
- PBC All-Tournament Team
- United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Southeast Region
- D2CCA First Team All-Southeast Region
Grace McGill, North Georgia
Senior, Forward
- Played 22 matches, starting 21
- Scored 10 goals (2nd in PBC) and assisted 5 for 25 points
- PBC All-Conference First Team
- PBC All-Tournament Team
- United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Southeast Region
- D2CCA Second Team All-Southeast Region
- United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Second Team
Greta Ohlwein, USCA
Senior, Forward
- Started all 18 matches
- Scored 7 goals, assisted 7 for 21 points
- Scored 2 game-winning goals
- PBC All-Conference First Team