Creighton Volleyball 2026: Season Outlook & Program Overview
Original analysis of the Creighton Bluejays program, coaching staff, and 2026 outlook.
2026 Season Outlook
Creighton opens 2026 ranked No. 13 nationally and as the unanimous pick to win a 13th straight BIG EAST title, taking all 10 first-place votes and the maximum 100 points in the preseason coaches poll. This is Brian Rosen's second season. He took over in April 2025 after three years on staff, succeeding Kirsten Bernthal Booth, and immediately went 28-6, won a 12th consecutive BIG EAST regular-season title and reached a second straight Elite Eight, finishing No. 10. Standing between the Bluejays and a 13th title is one of the hardest non-conference schedules in the country: every non-conference opponent finished last season with an RPI of 44 or better, and all but one made the NCAA Tournament. Three returning starters and nine returning letterwinners are joined by a transfer class drawing from Texas, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Kansas. Senior Jaya Johnson was the only unanimous Creighton selection on the Preseason All-BIG EAST team, and junior middle Ayden Ames arrives from Texas having started 55 of 56 matches over two seasons there.
Program History & Tradition
Creighton has been the dominant program in the BIG EAST since joining the league in 2013, going 227-18 against conference opponents with 12 regular-season titles and 11 tournament championships, including a run of 47 consecutive BIG EAST regular-season wins - 53 in a row counting conference tournament play. The Bluejays have reached the Elite Eight in each of the last two seasons and went 28-6 in 2025, finishing No. 10 nationally. Kirsten Bernthal Booth led the program for 22 seasons from 2003 to 2024, compiling 502 wins, 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and 12 regular-season conference titles before stepping down for an administrative role with League One Volleyball. Home is D.J. Sokol Arena, where Creighton has gone 46-1 over the past three seasons.
Head Coach Spotlight
Brian Rosen is in his second season as head coach, promoted in April 2025 after three years as an assistant and associate head coach. Creighton went 88-13 over that stretch, a .871 winning percentage that trailed only Pittsburgh and Nebraska nationally. His first season in charge produced a 28-6 record, a 12th straight BIG EAST regular-season title, a second consecutive Elite Eight and a No. 10 final ranking. His staff includes associate head coach Angie Oxley Behrens, assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Izzy Ashburn, assistant coach Adam Kessenich and technical coordinator Kaleb Scharman.
What to Watch in 2026
The season opens with three Big Ten opponents in three days at the State Farm Showcase in Sioux Falls - Purdue, Minnesota and USC, August 28 to 30 - which will say almost everything about this team before September. September 16 at Nebraska is the marquee non-conference date and Creighton's only standalone non-conference match, this time at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln; the 2025 meeting in Omaha drew 17,675, the largest indoor regular-season crowd in NCAA volleyball history, and four of the last seven meetings have gone five sets. The Creighton Classic on September 18 and 20 brings Kansas State and defending national champion Texas A&M into Sokol Arena. In BIG EAST play, Villanova on November 15 and the Marquette pair - home October 4, away October 29 - are the likely swing points. Omaha hosts the BIG EAST Tournament November 21 and 22, with the final on ESPNU.