No. 9 Stanford will begin its 2026 men’s volleyball season at home against No. 12 Lewis on Saturday at Burnham Pavilion, with the match set to stream on B1G+.
The Cardinal enters the new campaign following a 13-15 overall record in 2025 under head coach John Kosty, who has led the program for 19 seasons. Last year, Stanford finished seventh in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) with a conference record of 4-8 and reached the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament for a fourth consecutive time—a first in program history. Junior opposite Moses Wagner was named to the MPSF All-Tournament Team after averaging 3.77 kills per set on .305 hitting, along with nearly one block and over four points per set during postseason play. The team maintained a presence in national rankings throughout the season and concluded ranked No. 13 in the AVCA poll.
In preseason voting by league coaches, Stanford was picked to finish fourth in the MPSF this year. UCLA is favored to win its fifth straight regular season title, receiving four first-place votes; Pepperdine and USC tied for second place.
Stanford’s incoming class includes four high school recruits: Peter Debiec from Cary, North Carolina; Declan Flanagan from Rancho Santa Fe, California; Aleksey Mikhailenko from Mequon, Wisconsin; and Lincoln Myers from Madison, Wisconsin.
Junior outside hitter Theo Snoey received his first career All-America recognition as an honorable mention selection by AVCA after leading Stanford last season in kills (405), aces (33), and points (461). Snoey now joins a group of Cardinal athletes who have earned a total of 78 All-America awards all-time.
Snoey and Wagner were both selected to the All-MPSF second team for their performances last year, marking their first career honors at this level. Libero Evan Porter was named to the MPSF All-Freshman Team. With these additions, Stanford now has accumulated 117 all-conference selections historically.
Academically, Snoey was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District list for At-Large sports in 2025. Six players made it onto the MPSF All-Academic Team: Ignacio Brito, Theoren Brouillette, Nate Clinton, Luke McFall, Theo Snoey, and Moses Wagner.
Statistically last season within conference play, Stanford ranked fourth in assists per set (11.47) and kills per set (12.06), sixth in hitting percentage (.280) and blocks per set (2.07), seventh in aces per set (1.26), and eighth in digs per set (7.75). Individually among MPSF players: Snoey led all players with 4.13 kills per set and also topped points per set at 4.70; Wagner ranked seventh in kills per set (3.53) and sixth in points per set (4.27); Brouillette placed second for assists per set at 10.39; Porter was fourth with 1.84 digs per set; while Snoey’s average of .34 service aces put him ninth among his peers.
Former player Matt Fuerbringer (‘97) was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame last October as only the fifth men’s volleyball player so honored by Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame inductees—having been part of Stanford’s NCAA championship team in 1997 as well as earning AVCA National Freshman of the Year honors three years earlier before becoming a four-time All-American athlete himself—and later coaching internationally for Team USA men’s volleyball squads that won Olympic bronze medals twice before taking over as head coach for League One Volleyball Madison women’s professional team this January.
Head coach John Kosty completed his nineteenth season leading Stanford’s program—his thirty-fifth overall on staff—in spring of last year with an overall coaching record standing at 273 wins against 238 losses since assuming head coaching duties prior to guiding them toward national titles or finals appearances several times over two decades.
