ATLANTA, Ga. - With the start of the 2019 season just a few weeks away, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) released its preseason top-20 poll on Monday and eight CCSA programs made the cut.
Florida State, who finished National Runner-Up in 2018, led the way as they were ranked No. 3 in the nation. It marks the fifth-straight season that the Seminoles come in the top five of the AVCA preseason poll. FSU has won the last three CCSA championships. This season, the 'Noles will face 16 of the 20 teams ranked in the preseason poll.
Three other CCSA squads grabbed top-10 rankings, as LSU, South Carolina and FIU came in at No. 7, No. 9 and No. 10 respectively. The Tigers, Gamecocks and Panthers all made appearances at the NCAA Championships last May.
Georgia State (No. 13), Tulane (No. 18) and FAU (No. 20) all finished 2018 ranked in the top 20, while CCSA newcomer TCU (No. 19) cracks the rankings after finishing last year unranked. Three other CCSA programs in UAB, College of Charleston and Southern Miss received votes in the preseason poll.
2019 AVCA Beach Volleyball Coaches Preseason Poll
| Rank | School | 2018 Record | 2018 Final Rank |
| 1 | UCLA (27) | 40-4 | 1 |
| 2 | Southern California | 27-14 | 5 |
| 3 | Florida State (1) | 33-7 | 2 |
| 4 | Pepperdine (2) | 25-5 | 4 |
| 5 | Hawai'i | 37-5 | 3 |
| 6 | Cal Poly | 27-7 | 10 |
| 7 | LSU | 27-14 | 6 |
| 8 | Long Beach State | 26-8 | 7 |
| 9 | South Carolina | 24-9 | 8 |
| 10 | Florida International | 23-12 | 9 |
| 11 | Stanford | 17-13 | 13 |
| 12 | California | 24-8 | 12 |
| 13 | Georgia State | 24-12 | 11 |
| 14 | Arizona | 20-12 | 14 |
| 15 | Loyola Marymount | 22-14 | 15 |
| 16 | Grand Canyon | 13-16 | 18 |
| 17 | Stetson | 30-8 | 16 |
| 18 | Tulane | 23-14 | 17 |
| 19 | TCU | 10-22 | NR |
| 20 | Florida Atlantic | 18-15 | 20 |
Others receiving votes: Saint Mary's, Washington, Arizona State, UAB, Houston Baptist, Florida Gulf Coast, Coastal Carolina, Cal State-Northridge, College of Charleston, Southern Miss, Nebraska, New Mexico.