It’s officially fall, and that means Big Ten football, Big Ten volleyball, and preseason for hockey, basketball, and wrestling. We’re fully in the swing of things, so let’s whip around and hit a few pieces of news that may have gone a bit under the radar this week.
Men’s hockey ranked No. 17 in the preseason poll
The USCHO preseason poll was released on Tuesday, and the Nittany Lions checked in at No. 17. While Penn State doesn’t have next year’s No. 1 overall pick as it did in 2025-26 with Gavin McKenna, Guy Gadowsky’s program is still invested in competing at a high level.
The Big Ten preseason poll was also released this week and slotted Penn State last at No. 7. Michigan and the reigning Big Ten champs three years running, Michigan State, are the two favorites to win the league and slotted at No. 2 and No. 3 in the USCHO poll behind Denver.
Penn State defenseman Jackson Smith was the team’s lone preseason All-Big Ten selection, checking in on the second team.
Koby Howard and Matt Campbell’s injury updates
First-year head coach Matt Campbell is already facing some adversity heading into his first Big Ten game in Week 4 as the Nittany Lions host Wisconsin. The big news is that star wide receiver Koby Howard will miss “an extended period of time” with an injury he sustained in Week 3. However, Howard was the only injury update to come out of Campbell’s Wednesday media availability.
Campbell also revealed that backup offensive lineman Will Tompkins, an Iowa State transfer, is out for the year. He joins defensive end Max Granville as Nittany Lions who are out for the season. Tompkins had seen time early this year as a swing tackle, but the Nittany Lions have depth behind Malachi Goodman and Anthony Donkoh, with Garrett Sexton and Owen Aliciene, who returned from injury in Week 3.
Women’s volleyball slips in latest poll
Monday’s updated AVCA women’s volleyball poll dropped Penn State to No. 14, one spot behind Tennessee, which beat the Nittany Lions 3-1 on Sunday at Rec Hall in the finale of the Beach Bash.
Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s team will open Big Ten play this week with a trip to Michigan. On Friday night, the Nittany Lions will face the Wolverines at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, and on Sunday, they will play Michigan State at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
More: Jayden Jones grayshirting the 2026-27 season
Jayden Jones was the No. 2 pound-for-pound recruit in the 2026 class, according to FloWrestling, but the two-time state champion from Delbarton High School in New Jersey won’t be wrestling for the Nittany Lions this season. Jones officially announced that he is grayshirting this week, which means he will not enroll full-time at Penn State this year and will not compete or practice with Cael Sanderson’s program.
The decision will delay Jones’s 5-in-5 eligibility clock by a year, and he will compete as an unattached athlete in collegiate events this year and will train with Nittany Lions Wrestling Club.
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