Kansas volleyball announced on Apr. 16 its full schedule for the upcoming 2026 season, which will feature a total of 28 matches split evenly between home and road or neutral sites. The announcement follows the release of the Big 12 Conference schedule.
The new schedule is significant as it includes matchups against several strong teams and provides opportunities for growth ahead of postseason play. Head coach Matt Ulmer said, “We feel like this schedule is well rounded. We get to play in tough road environments plus face strong competition at home. We are playing against a lot of teams that are used to winning and they do that with different styles of volleyball. The Big 12 is deeper than ever and it was already record setting last season. This schedule will help us grow for the postseason.”
The Jayhawks will begin their season after two home scrimmages and an exhibition match against Creighton on Aug. 22, before competing in the Opening Spike Classic at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where they will face Pittsburgh on Aug. 28 and Stanford on Aug. 30. Kansas then travels to Nashville, Tennessee, for the Lipscomb Tournament to play Lipscomb on Sept. 3 and Florida State on Sept. 4.
Home action starts with Wichita State visiting Lawrence on Sept. 8, followed by hosting South Dakota State (Sept.11), Tulsa (Sept.13), Ole Miss (Sept.18), and Grand Canyon (Sept.20) during two consecutive tournaments—the Kansas Invitational and Jayhawk Classic—at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.
Big 12 Conference play begins Sept.25 when Kansas hosts Houston, with additional conference home games including Utah, BYU, Arizona State, Kansas State, Baylor, Cincinnati, TCU and West Virginia throughout the fall.
Ulmer enters his second year leading Kansas after guiding them to a fourth Sweet Sixteen appearance in program history last year with a final record of 24-11 overall and second place in conference standings at 13-5.
Details about ticket sales for the upcoming season will be shared later.
