Can the Dores Repeat?

Vanderbilt Is the Team to Beat

Last season changed the expectations around Vanderbilt women’s soccer.

The Commodores entered 2025 as a strong SEC program. They left it as a team that had proven it could compete with anyone in the country. Vanderbilt won its fourth SEC Tournament championship after defeating LSU in a dramatic penalty shootout, then continued its NCAA Tournament run all the way to the first Elite Eight in program history.

Now comes the harder part: doing it again.

There is no sneaking up on anyone this time. SEC coaches picked Vanderbilt as the preseason favorite to win the conference, putting the Commodores in a completely different position heading into 2026.

And so far, Vanderbilt looks ready for the challenge.

The Commodores opened the season 6-0, including wins over SMU, No. 21 Memphis, Rice and Houston. They have scored 24 goals through their first six games while allowing just six.

The roster has also retained plenty of experience from last year’s run. SEC Tournament MVP Courtney Jones is back for her senior season, along with players such as Ella Eggleston, Sydney Watts, Margo Matula and Adysen Armenta.

That experience matters.

Vanderbilt now knows what it takes to navigate the SEC Tournament. It knows what it feels like to play in an NCAA Tournament quarterfinal. More importantly, the players know that last season was not the ceiling.

The goal for 2026 should be simple: raise it.

Winning the SEC again would be impressive. Making another deep NCAA Tournament run would prove last season was no fluke. And with the expectations now firmly on their shoulders, Vanderbilt has an opportunity to turn one special season into a new standard for the program.

The Commodores are not chasing respect anymore.

They have it.

Now they have to defend it.