Following the men’s lacrosse team’s loss in the NCAA tournament, every Penn State team sport has concluded for the 2025-26 academic year. (Individual track and field qualifiers will compete at the NCAA Championships in June.)
It featured a mixed bag of results, including disappointment in several major sports and a handful of head coaching changes as a result.
Here’s how each Nittany Lion squad fared during the 2025-26 season compared to the previous year:
Note: Cross country, fencing, track and field, swim and dive, gymnastics and golf are not included, as some of their competitions include several teams instead of school vs. school matchups.
• Men’s volleyball: .484 to .733
• Women’s lacrosse: .438 to .632
• Softball: .481 to .611
• Men’s tennis: .444 to .552
• Men’s soccer: .375 to .412
• Women’s basketball: .345 to .379
• Women’s hockey: .829 to .846
• Wrestling: 1.000 to 1.000
• Men’s hockey: .600 to .595
• Women’s tennis: .583 to .560
• Field hockey: .471 to .412
• Men’s lacrosse: .706 to .625
• Women’s soccer: .660 to .548
• Men’s basketball: .516 to .375
• Baseball: .589 to .314
• Football: .813 to .538
• Women’s volleyball: .946 to .594
Men’s volleyball led the way during head coach Mark Pavlik’s final season, increasing its winning percentage by .249 and claiming yet another conference tournament championship, the 27th of his esteemed career.
Women’s lacrosse also saw a substantial improvement during head coach Kayla Treanor’s first season at the helm, a promising sign for the accomplished hire, who previously led Syracuse to four straight NCAA tournaments before taking the job.
Softball returned to form, rallying from a down year to finish above .500 for the fourth time in five years. Men’s tennis, men’s soccer and women’s basketball posted marginal improvements, with soccer and basketball making coaching changes this offseason.
Women’s hockey, which produced the best season in program history, saw a slight increase in winning percentage while reaching the Frozen Four for the first time.
Wrestling was the only team to break even, posting another undefeated campaign led by head coach Cael Sanderson, arguably the team’s most dominant yet.
However, the other nine sports saw decreases in winning percentage, including some major drops.
Men’s hockey was on the moderate end, falling by just .005 after a disappointing season marred by injuries. The group still reached the NCAA tournament but was underwhelming given lofty preseason expectations.
Field hockey posted an uncharacteristic second consecutive losing season, leading to a head coaching change with Hannah Prince taking over.
Despite winning the Big Ten tournament and reaching the NCAA quarterfinals, men’s lacrosse saw its winning percentage drop following a Final Four appearance a year ago.
Men’s basketball and baseball both took significant steps backward in year three for head coaches Mike Rhoades and Mike Gambino. Both appeared to have their programs trending in the right direction entering the year.
Coming off a program-record 13 wins and a run in the College Football Playoff, the football team collapsed with a six-game midseason losing streak, including the firing of James Franklin.
At the bottom of the pack was women’s volleyball, which posted an underwhelming season after winning a national championship the previous season, though it still made an appearance in the NCAA tournament and earned a win.
