WINTHROP, Mass. – Dean College has been selected as the preseason favorite for the 2026 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) field hockey season, according to a vote of the league's 10 head coaches. The defending GNAC champion Bulldogs received four first-place votes and 89 points after advancing to the NCAA Tournament last fall.

Saint Joseph's College of Maine placed second with 86 points and two first-place votes. Led by third-year head coach Theresa Arsenault '14, the Monks will look to build on the 2025 squad's regular season runner-up finish.

Saint Joseph's returns a pair of 2025 GNAC All-Conference honorees in sophomore Ava Markham (Belfast, Maine) and junior Katie Yeaton (Farmington, Maine).

Markham, the reigning GNAC Rookie of the Year and a Second Team All-Conference selection, tallied 29 points on seven goals and 15 assists last season. Yeaton also earned Second Team honors after anchoring the Monks' midfield, starting all 20 games and logging more than 1,000 minutes.

Senior Kimberly McLaughlin (Lewiston, Maine) returns in goal after making 19 starts during her first season as the Monks' primary goalkeeper in 2025. She posted a 10-8 record with two shutouts, 114 saves, a .731 save percentage, and a 2.37 goals-against average across 1,062 minutes.

Colby-Sawyer College placed third with 85 points and three first-place votes. New England College (73 points) and Lasell University (56 points, one first-place vote) completed the top five.

Simmons University (47), the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (46), Rivier University (37), Regis College (20), and Elms College (11) rounded out the poll.

The 2026 season opens with non-conference action on Tuesday, September 1, while conference play begins Saturday, September 19, with four league matchups.

The GNAC postseason opens with the quarterfinals on Saturday, October 31, followed by the semifinals on Wednesday, November 4, and the championship on Saturday, November 7. The conference champion earns the GNAC's automatic berth in the 2026 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship.

2026 GNAC Field Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll: