Junior Olivia Clemons charges down the field against Westminster College last season. (Bri Nitsberg | Student Life)

The Bears are getting ready to kickstart the 2026-27 school year! Here are some things to know as we look at the fall season ahead:

Men’s and women’s cross country

After a seventh-place finish in the 2025 NCAA Championships, the women’s team looks to maintain their dominant presence in the running world. The squad will look to junior Lucinda Laughlin, Midwest Region champion and Athlete of the Year, to lead the Bears this season. WashU also returns senior Avery Nason and juniors Lauren Raley and Maddy Lee, all of whom competed in nationals last year. 

The men’s team finished 16th in the 2025 NCAA Championships and will look to improve their podium placing this season. The team will return many experienced underclassmen athletes who competed in nationals last year, including sophomores Charlie Houck, Rishi Shadaksharappa, and Gavin O’Connor, as well as juniors Sean Green and Ben Lorenz.

Women’s soccer

Looking for a three-peat, women’s soccer enters the 2026 season as back-to-back national champions (2024 and 2025), holding three consecutive University Athletic Association (UAA) titles (2023, 2024, and 2025), and without having lost a game since December 2023. The team’s juniors and sophomores are undefeated in a WashU uniform.

The program’s returning classes hold an ample amount of talent. A class of 10 seniors will lead the team, including senior midfielder Sophie Viscovich and senior defender and midfielder Keira Smyser. Junior forward Olivia Clemons is the catalyst for the Bears’ offense, earning her First Team All-America, UAA Offensive Player of the Year, and several other honors. Five first-years, as well as two junior transfer students, join the dynasty from Division I programs Saint Louis University and the University of Missouri.

Men’s soccer

Men’s soccer enters the 2026 season with a UAA conference title to defend. As 2025 UAA champions, the team made an impressive postseason run in the 2025 Division III NCAA Tournament, reaching the Sweet 16.

With a senior class of 11, the Bears have ample upperclassmen leadership and experience. Senior defender Quentin Gomez and senior goalkeeper Cal L’Hommedieu specifically have a strong presence on the pitch, proven by the opponent average of 0.84 goals per game last season. Senior forward Ethan Wirtschafter is a prominent contributor to the Bears offense, scoring 14 goals in 18 games last year. The program welcomes five first-years and assistant coach Gavin Kalish, previously the assistant men’s soccer coach for the Division I Saint Louis University. 

Volleyball

Volleyball finished the 2025 season in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III tournament against the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh. This was the deepest postseason run the program has made since 2016. The team will return five seniors to lead the Bears, including Second Team All-American Leah Oyewole and Honorable Mention All-American Ellie Laird. Oyewole led the team with 3.73 kills per set in 2025, while Laird put up an astounding 5.26 digs per set.

However, there is much uncertainty regarding the team’s fate after graduating star setter Sam Buckley. With eight first-years, the team welcomes a lot of new blood, but the Bears must step up to fill Buckley’s shoes if the team wants to continue their four-year streak of making it to the D-III tournament. 

Football

The 2026 season for WashU football is a wild card, as the team has changed conferences from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) to the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). This means the Bears face a whole new array of competitive opponents this year, as the conference boasted a record of 53-20 overall and had three bowl game appearances in 2025.

However, the Bears have an ample amount of talent — demonstrated by their 8-3 record in 2025. Recently, senior offensive lineman Brady Cavan was named to the D3football.com Preseason All-America Third Team. Senior wide receiver Makael Carter is also entering the season hot after leading the team in receiving with 48 catches for 755 yards in 2025. The team welcomes 38 first-years to the squad.

Golf

After two consecutive fifth-place finishes in the 2026 NCAA D-III Championship, WashU golf is eager to continue its positive momentum. The program has strong upperclassmen leadership on and off the course in senior Reagan Robinson, senior All-America Honorable Mention Amy Beanblossom, and junior Nicole McGuire. Sophomores and top-50 2026 finishers Jessy Young and Saxon Skinner look to continue their already impressive collegiate careers. The team welcomes first-years Jessica Liu and Eliza Meltzer.

Additionally, Director of Athletics Anthony J. Azama announced last spring that the department is upgrading several varsity locker rooms, the equipment room, and the Field House. The equipment room is set to expand by 1,100 square feet and will feature more mobile storage units. This renovation will increase the efficiency and holding capacity of the equipment space.

The locker room project will provide seven women’s teams with new locker rooms — an effort to “build on the Bears’ mission of equity between all sports,” according to a statement made by WashU Athletics. The Field House also received a renovation, including a repainting of the walls as well as new lighting and sound systems.

Entering the 2026 season as the winners of the 2025-26 Learfield Directors’ Cup, WashU has proven it is an elite competitor. This fall season has many exciting Bears sporting events in store, starting Tuesday, Sept. 1, with men’s and women’s season openers at home.