FAIRFIELD, Conn – The Fairfield University men's and women's swimming and diving teams swept the top spot in the 2025-26 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) coaches' polls as the conference released the rankings on Wednesday morning.

The men's team garnered four first place votes which helped it tally 74 points in the poll, edging past Niagara University's second-place total of 70 points and Marist University's 69 points. Niagara and Marist picked up the remaining first-place votes in the poll with two and three, respectively.

The women's team also secured the top spot in its respective poll, gaining five first-place votes which helped the Stags collect the most points in the poll with 134. Niagara was second with 131 points and four first-place votes while Marist took third with 125 points and two first-place votes. Sacred Heart University also earned a first-place vote in the poll, finishing fourth overall with 107 points.

After the top three in the men's poll, Iona University followed with 49 point which was slightly better than Mount St. Mary's 43 points and Rider University's 41 points. The remainder of the poll included Canisius University (20 points), Saint Peter's University (19 points), and Manhattan University (11 points).

The women's poll saw Iona fill the fifth slot in the preseason coaches poll based on its 92 points, followed by Mount St. Mary's (86 points), Siena College (65 points), Canisius (64 points), Rider (56 points), Merrimack College (39 points), Saint Peter's (20 points), and Manhattan (17 points).

Last season, the Fairfield women's team finished second while the men's squad took third place at the 2025 MAAC Swimming and Diving Championships. Both teams finished 5-3 in dual meet competition during the 2024-25 campaign under Head Coach Jake Lichter who will begin his second season as the Stags' head swimming and diving coach.

The Stags open the 2025-26 season this weekend by hosting the Fairfield Invitational at the RecPlex Pool on the University's main campus. The divers will start the event on Friday evening before the swimmers take to the pool on Saturday morning. The Invitational will feature Manhattan University, Southern Connecticut State University, and the University of Bridgeport on the men's side while those three schools will join Sacred Heart University on the women's side.