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The NCAA men's volleyball tournament is back and bigger than ever for 2026.
The bracket has expanded from nine to 12 teams, with seven automatic qualifiers and five at-large teams. That opens the door for more schools to compete but the usual suspects enter postseason play as the favorites.
One of this year's top three seeds — No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Hawaii and No. 3 Long Beach State — has won every NCAA title since 2018. Every championship match in that span except 2021, when Hawaii beat BYU for the title, has featured a matchup of two of those three schools in the final.
Defending champion Long Beach and UCLA have met in the final the last two years, with the teams splitting the titles. Will they make it three in a row or will Hawaii or another team break through this year?
Here's everything you need to know to watch.
NCAA men's volleyball bracket 2026
Four teams are seeded nationally and will host regionals the opening weekend, awaiting the winners of first-round matches between the other two teams in their regions. See the full match schedule below.
- No. 1 UCLA
- UC Irvine
- Penn State
- No. 4 Ball State
- Pepperdine
- Fort Valley State
- No. 2 Hawaii
- USC
- Belmont Abbey
- No. 3 Long Beach State
- Loyola Chicago
- Saint Francis
Where to watch NCAA men's volleyball tournament
- TV channel: ESPN2 (final only)
- Live stream: ESPN app
Every match of the 2026 NCAA men's volleyball tournament can be streamed live via the ESPN app. The final also will air on ESPN2.
Now you can watch ESPN without cable. Stream live NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, college sports, plus SportsCenter, First Take, and all your favorite ESPN shows—anytime, anywhere—only in the ESPN app.
NCAA men's volleyball tournament schedule, scores 2026
Friday, May 1 - First round
| Pepperdine vs. Fort Valley State | 7 p.m. | ESPN app |
| UC Irvine vs. Penn State | 9 p.m. | ESPN app |
| Loyola Chicago vs. Saint Francis | 10 p.m. | ESPN app |
| USC vs. Belmont Abbey | 11 p.m. | ESPN app |
Saturday, May 2 - Regional finals
| No. 4 Ball State vs. Pepperdine/Fort Valley State | 6 p.m. | ESPN app |
| No. 1 UCLA vs. UC Irvine/Penn State | 8 p.m. | ESPN app |
| No. 3 Long Beach vs. Loyola Chicago/Saint Francis | 9 p.m. | ESPN app |
| No. 2 Hawaii vs. USC/Belmont Abbey | 10 p.m. | ESPN app |
Saturday, May 9 - Semifinals
Semifinals and final will be played at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles
| UCLA region winner vs. Ball State region winner | 6:30 or 9:30 p.m. | ESPN app |
| Hawaii region winner vs. Long Beach region winner | 6:30 or 9:30 p.m. | ESPN app |
Monday, May 11 - Championship
| Semifinal winners | 7 p.m. | ESPN2, ESPN app |
NCAA men's volleyball champions list
Here are the last 10 NCAA men's volleyball champions and runners-up. There was no tournament in 2020 due to COVID-19.
| 2025 | Long Beach State | UCLA |
| 2024 | UCLA | Long Beach State |
| 2023 | UCLA | Hawaii |
| 2022 | Hawaii | Long Beach State |
| 2021 | Hawaii | BYU |
| 2019 | Long Beach State | Hawaii |
| 2018 | Long Beach State | UCLA |
| 2017 | Ohio State | BYU |
| 2016 | Ohio State | BYU |
| 2015 | Loyola Chicago | Lewis |
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