Men’s Volleyball advanced to the National Championship match, upending No. 1 UCLA in the regional final and handing the Bruins their second loss of the season. The Anteaters started the year with a school record 11 consecutive wins and ended with a No. 2 national ranking. The long list of honors was highlighted by libero Shane Aitken being named a first-team All-America and outside hitter Andrej Jokanovic being named National and Big West Freshman of the Year as well as second team All-America.
Men’s Soccer won the Big West Men’s Soccer Championship with a 2-1 victory over UC Santa Barbara in fall 2025, its sixth title in program history and made an its eighth appearance in the NCAA tournament. Senior defender Nolan DiCenzo was named Big West Championship Most Valuable Player, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Travis Babineau, Isaac Powell and Brady Treinen. A program record five players were honored as United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region team.
Men’s Basketball competed in the postseason for the fourth consecutive year, earning an invitation to the NIT tournament. The Anteaters ended the year ranked 18th in the final CollegeInsider Mid Major poll after going 23-12 overall, the 16th 20-plus win season all-time. UCI was the Big West regular season champs for the 10th time in program history and third in the last four years with a 15-5 Big West record. Nationally, UC Irvine ranked fifth in blocks (5.8) and field goal percentage defense (38.8), eighth in defensive rebounds (28.66) and 13th in rebounds per game (40.29). Senior Kyle Evans, who became the UC Irvine and Big West single season block record holder with 115, led the nation in total blocks and block average at 3.29 per contest. The forward now ranks third all-time in blocks at UCI with 163.
Women’s Basketball won their second Big West regular season title with a program-best 17-3 conference record. The Anteaters also established a school record in overall wins, finishing the year at 26-7. They put together a 16-game win streak from November through January. UCI earned an automatic bid to the WBIT, marking its fourth postseason appearance in the last six years. Hunter Hernandez was named the Big West Player of the Year, Jada Wynn was tabbed the Newcomer of the Year, and Tamara Inoue earned her second career Coach of the Year award. Hernandez shattered the single-season school record with 655 points and set the all-time record with 402 career free throws made. She also tied the single-game school record with 41 points at Cal Poly.
Women’s Indoor Track and Field made history, capturing their first MPSF title in March. Two months later, the women’s outdoor track & field team won their second consecutive Big West Championship. Over both seasons, the Anteaters took home nine individual conference titles and set 20 school records, including Aoife Hernon who now holds the top 400m times in both outdoor and indoor program history as well as being a member of the 4×400 relay teams that rank first at UC Irvine.
Men’s Tennis won a share of their seventh Big West regular season championship. The Anteaters have now taken home either a conference tournament or regular season title in each of the last five years. Hiroki Sakagawa was named the 2026 Big West Men’s Tennis Player of the Year and earned his second career first-team all-conference honor. He played all his matches at the top of the singles lineup, finishing with a 14-3 record, including a perfect 5-0 mark in Big West play. Sakagawa won four Big West Player of the Week awards and beat two ranked opponents this season.
Awards: Anteater athletes earned seven All-American honors, eight All-Region accolades, 78 All-Big West selections, and 54 Big West Players of the Week selections. Three were named Conference Player of the Year, three Coaches of the Year, two Newcomer of the Year as well as a National Newcomer of the Year.
UC Irvine finished second in the Dennis Farrell Commissioner’s Cup and had four teams end the year nationally ranked.
