Marlborough, Mass. - August 20, 2026 - Five-time defending league champion Babson College received nine of ten first place votes to sit atop of the 2026 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Field Hockey Coaches Preseason Poll as the conference released the poll on Thursday morning.
Babson, under the direction of 11-time NEWMAC Coach of the Year Julie Ryan, will return a trio of All-Conference selections from 2025 including First Teamer Penny Baroni, who also took home All-America accolades from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA). The Beavers finished the 2025 season in the national semifinals against Johns Hopkins University and ranked third in the NFHCA Division III National Poll. Babson defeated Springfield and WPI in the conference tournament and No. 16 Bowdoin and No. 7 Wesleyan in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament en route to its third national semifinal appearance (2016, 2023, 2025).
MIT collected 12 wins in 2025 and reached the NEWMAC Tournament Semifinals once again. The Engineers will return NEWMAC All-Conference honorees Audrey Oh and Drew Hussar as well as an experienced roster of ten upperclassmen all who will be competing for first-year head coach Megan Caveny. Caveny was welcomed to Cambridge after a four-year assistant coaching stint at Tufts University, which claimed the 2025 National Championship title and finished as the National Runner Up in 2024.
WPI received one first place vote and finished just two points behind MIT for third place in third year’s preseason poll. Worcester’s Engineers had a historic 2025 campaign and reached the NEWMAC Championship title game for the first time in program history. Despite falling in the championship game, 1-0, to Babson, WPI’s 14-5 record was enough to earn an at-large selection to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament, the program’s first NCAA appearance in 32 years. WPI topped Stevenson on the road before dropping its second round game to Johns Hopkins. The Engineers will return junior goalkeeper Myles Lakin, who claimed NEWMAC All-Conference First Team honors and was tabbed as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2025.
Springfield, Smith and Wellesley finished fourth through sixth in this year’s preseason poll with the Pride receiving 54 total points. The Pride return a trio of All-Conference honorees including First Teamer and 2025 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year Rachel Simkewicz and will look to improve on a historic 2025 season as Springfield produced the most wins in a season since 2018 (13) and reached the NEWMAC Semifinal round under Mia Olsen. Smith graduated five seniors, but will look to its four rising seniors as well as NEWMAC All-Conference Second Team selection Anouk Bosket to take the Bears back to the postseason in 2026.
Wellesley, who took the sixth slot in this year’s poll, appeared in its sixth consecutive NEWMAC Tournament in 2025 and will return a total of 16 student-athletes to the program including NEWMAC Second Team All-Conference selection Marguerite Greene and goalkeeper Hannah Simmonds. Salve Regina finished seventh in the preseason poll with 40 points and as do many in the conference returns an experienced group including six seniors and five juniors, but will also welcome seven first-years to the squad looking to make its third straight trip to the NEWMAC Tournament - what would be its third in four years since joining the NEWMAC.
Wheaton, Clark and Mount Holyoke round of the 2026 preseason coaches poll. Wheaton’s goalkeeper Grace Ferguson makes the return to Norton as she finished her sophomore campaign with the league’s second best save percentage. The Lyons also welcomed first-year head coach Alexandria Sylvia to Norton as the Lyons will compete for its first postseason appearance since 2021.
Clark welcomes six first-years to Worcester in 2026 as head coach Laura-Anne Lane has a young squad to start the year with only two seniors and two juniors on the roster, while Mount Holyoke will return 20 to its roster this fall and be looking for its first playoff appearance since 2019.
2026 NEWMAC Field Hockey Preseason Coaches Poll
Team, Points (First-Place Votes)
1 - Babson, 81 (9)
2 - MIT, 67
3 - WPI, 65 (1)
4 - Springfield, 54
5 - Smith, 47
6 - Wellesley, 45
7 - Salve Regina, 40
8 - Wheaton, 20
9 - Clark, 17
10 - Mount Holyoke, 14
A look at the NEWMAC Field Hockey Head Coaches
Babson - Julie Ryan - 20th Season - 290-100
MIT - Megan Caveny - 1st Season - 0-0
WPI - Carden Brown - 4th Season - 43-21
Springfield - Mia Olsen - 5th Season - 40-38
Smith - Jaime Ginsberg - 20th Season - 131-202
Wellesley - Callie Lekas - 11th Season - 69-96
Salve Regina - Jennifer Foster - 20th Season - 166-164
Wheaton - Alexandria Sylvia - 1st Season - 0-0
Clark - Laura-Anne Lane - 28th Season - 280-241
Mount Holyoke - Andy Whitcomb - 31st Season - 307-244-1
The 2026 season begins on Tuesday, September 1 with Salve Regina welcoming Russell Sage to Rhode Island at 4:00 pm. Eight other NEWMAC teams will play that same day including WPI, MIT, Clark, Mount Holyoke, Wellesley, Babson, Wheaton and Smith. Springfield will then open its slate the next day traveling to Hartford at 5:00 pm. NEWMAC play opens on Saturday, September 19 with a trio of conference games at noon including Smith at Wheaton, MIT at Mount Holyoke and Wellesley at Babson.
A conference champion will be crowned on Saturday, November 7 With that team receiving the league’s automatic berth to the 2026 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. Babson will be in pursuit of its sixth consecutive NEWMAC title in 2026.
About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 13 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Saint Anselm College (beginning reclassification process with NCAA in 2027-28), Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with seven Associate Members: New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 21 sports.