STANFORD, Calif. - In his 20th season at the helm of the program, The Birkhofer Family Head Men’s Volleyball Coach John Kosty guided the Cardinal to an 11-15 overall record and an 8-6 mark in the MPSF (4th).
On the season, opposite Moses Wagner led the team in kills (283), aces (21) and points (338.5). Wagner earned All-MPSF Second Team recognition for the second straight year, while setter Jacob Little-Phillips landed on the All-MPSF Freshman Team. Stanford now has 118 all-conference selections all-time.
The Cardinal reached the quarterfinals of the MPSF Tournament, falling in four sets to host BYU. Middle blocker Luke McFall hit .455 with six kills and a team-high four blocks. Libero Evan Porter anchored the defense with a match-best 11 digs.
The Cardinal, which has been ranked every week for the past two seasons, finished the 2026 campaign at No. 16 in the AVCA poll.
Stanford led the conference with nine MPSF All-Academic Team selections - Theoren Brouillette, Kaumana Carreira, Ryan DuRoss, Carson Kneisl, McFall, Porter, Alex Rottman, Theo Snoey and Wagner.
As a team, Stanford was fifth in the MPSF with a .275 hitting percentage, 2.79 blocks per set and 7.79 digs per set. The Cardinal was sixth in kills (11.28) and assists (10.62), and seventh in aces (1.22). Porter lead the league with 2.19 digs per set. Wagner ranked fifth in kills (3.33) and points (3.98) per set, while Little-Phillips was seventh in assists (7.82). Middle blockers Carreira (0.95) and McFall (0.88) ranked fifth and ninth, respectively, in blocks.Â
Three Cardinal combined for four MPSF weekly honors in 2026. Wagner was recognized by the conference for the third (Defensive) and fourth (Offensive) times in his career, while Rottman (Defensive) and Porter (Defensive) earned their first career honors. Additionally, Wagner was tabbed the AVCA National Player of the Week on March 17 for his performances against No. 7 BYU.Â
The Cardinal defeated No. 7 BYU twice in 2026 at Maples Pavilion and had won three in a row over the Cougars dating back to the 2025 MPSF Championship quarterfinal in Malibu. Stanford hit a combined .324 against BYU, tallying 1.89 aces and 2.56 blocks per set. Wagner led the team with 4.56 kills on .392 hitting, 1.22 digs, 1.00 blocks and 5.33 points per set.
Stanford was correctly picked to finish fourth in the MPSF by the league’s coaches.
After spending eight seasons as the volunteer assistant with the Cardinal (2017-24), Matt Houlihan was back on The Farm as the interim Al Roderigues Assistant Coach for the 2026 season. He replaced Spencer Wickens, who left the program in January for an assistant women’s volleyball coaching position at the University of Minnesota.Â
In November 2025, Stanford signed four high school standouts to join the Cardinal in the fall of 2026. The group consists of Peter Debiec (Cary, N.C.), Declan Flanagan (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), Aleksey Mikhailenko (Mequon, Wis.) and Lincoln Myers (Madison, Wis.). Mikhailenko represented the United State at the 2026 Pan Am Cup, winning a gold medal with the U21 National Team.
Stanford head coach John Kosty completed his 20th season at the helm of the Cardinal program and his 36th overall on staff in 2026. He is now 284-253 in his career. He guided Stanford to the 2010 NCAA national championship and the 2014 NCAA finals. The Cardinal has produced a first team AVCA All-America selection in nine of 20 seasons under Kosty. Stanford has appeared in the MPSF Tournament in 17 of Kosty’s 20 seasons (missing out in 2007 and 2015. The tournament was canceled in 2020).
2026 AWARDS
- MPSF All-Academic Team
- MPSF All-Academic Team
- MPSF All-Academic Team
- MPSF All-Academic Team
- All-MPSF Freshman Team
- MPSF All-Academic Team
- MPSF Defensive Player of the Week (March 16)
- MPSF All-Academic Team
- MPSF Defensive Player of the Week (Feb. 2)
- MPSF All-Academic Team
- MPSF All-Academic Team
- All-MPSF Second Team
- AVCA Player of the Week (March 17)
- MPSF Offensive Player of the Week (March 16)
- MPSF Defensive Player of the Week (Feb. 23)
- MPSF All-Academic Team