Griz picked first in Big Sky Preseason Poll

The defending Big Sky Champion Montana men's tennis team has been tabbed to run in back in 2026, with the Grizzlies picked first in the league's preseason coaches' poll. Wednesday's announcement by the conference marks the first time UM has been picked first outright in the poll in modern program history, and for good reason.

The Grizzlies are poised to build on last year's historic run that saw head coach Jason Brown lead his squad to a win at the Big Sky championship tournament for the first time in over a decade and advance to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history.

With four of the team's top six singles, and five of the six top doubles players back in the rotation for 2026 along with a cast of upstart youngsters, the pieces are in place for Montana to have yet another historic season.

Now the Griz prepare to open the spring dual season in the unfamiliar position of being square in the league's crosshairs.

"Every coach will tell you that being first right now doesn't matter, it matters in April. This is a great tribute to the guys though. We're coming off a nice fall and a championship spring season. People are prepared for us to do well and we're expecting that," said Brown, the two-time Big Sky Coach of the Year now entering his eighth season at UM.

"In all my years here we've made multiple conference finals, but we've always been the one chasing. Now we're being chased. So, we have to look at what it means to have the target on our backs. We're not going to sneak up on anyone, and my job is to get these guys prepared for that."

Montana doesn't just return a handful of its top players in 2026, the Griz are returning some of the best to ever wear maroon and silver, and they're focused on leaving a lasting legacy.

Tom Bittner, last year's UM No. 1, the defending Big Sky tournament MVP, unanimous first team all-conference pick, and the Grizzlies' highest ranked player ever in the Mountain Region at No. 9, is back for his senior season after dominating the past two years with a combined 29-7 dual singles record.

He enters the 2026 season after earning one of the biggest upsets – not only in UM history but Big Sky history – at the ITA Conference Masters tourney in November, taking down the No. 1 player from the 2024 national champion and last year's runner-up TCU Horned Frogs in the first round of the consolation draw. He followed that up with a win over the defending Big East Conference Player of the Year Alejandro Gandini of DePaul in straight sets to cap the fall season.

Also back is last year's No. 2 (who could very well see time at No. 1) in fellow senior Baltazar Wiger-Nordas, another first team All-Big Sky selection and who earned a No. 20 Mountain Region ranking in singles after going 14-6 and became the first Grizzly to ever earn ATP Tour points over the summer playing in Europe.

"Tom was coming off an injury and didn't get to play a lot in the fall, but in the one event he was healthy he showed he's the man to beat in the Big Sky, and he wears that crown proudly. He's ready to take on all comers. We've got some guys like Baltazar pushing him from underneath to that will make us better as a team as well," added Brown.

The top of the Grizzly lineup will also be bolstered by key returners toward the bottom of the starting six.

Defending Big Sky Freshman of the Year Duncan McCall is back for his sophomore campaign after going 18-6 in singles on court three and 16-9 in doubles his first year of college tennis. McCall was a second-team all-conference singles pick last year and scored points for Montana in all three of the Grizzlies' matches at the Big Sky championship tournament, clinching the win for UM in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds.

"He's the returning Freshman of the Year and has done nothing but work hard to improve since. He's played nonstop since and actually just got a good week of training in with one of the top guys on the ATP in Grigor Dimitrov. We've spoke a number of times about using his success as a freshman as inspiration and knowing he can get even better," Brown added.

The Grizzlies also have another up-and-comer on the roster that is poised to make a run for the 2026 Freshman of the Year award in Matt Upton, who made waves this fall in his first semester at UM with a 12-3 singles record over the course of four tournaments.

"Matt is an absolute relentless workhorse. His handful of losses in the fall were to quality players. He just played a pro tournament in Scotland and went 4-2 and beat a guy who is top 800 ATP. For his age, he's already put together a phenomenal resume, and we haven't even played a dual yet. I'm really excited about seeing what he can do," said Brown.

Also back this season is senior Eivind Tandberg who has earned plenty of quality wins for the Griz at six last year, sophomore Moritz Lesjak who was the only Grizzly on his way to a win over his opponent from Texas in the NCAA tourney, fellow sophomore Johnny Wilkinson who was a doubles all-conference pick last season at 16-9 on the year, and junior transfer Joseph Townes out of the University of New Orleans, among others.

THE SCHEDULE AHEAD: Montana is coming off a historic 19-7 season that saw UM rack up the most wins in program history en route to the NCAA tourney. To get there again in 2026 the Griz will endure a challenging nonconference slate but will enjoy home court advantage in the Big Sky portion of the schedule.

Just how big is the home court advantage? Under Brown, the Grizzlies are 44-7 in Missoula since he took over the program in 2018 and are coming off the team's fourth undefeated season at the Peak Racquet Club in that time.

UM opens the season with a rare home match against a top regional foe when Utah State comes to Missoula on Jan. 25 for the first dual of the year. The Griz also hit the road for matches against powerhouses Utah and Denver in Colorado before returning home for another big matchup against UC San Diego. The remainder of the out-of-conference slate includes a doubleheader at North Dakota (last year's Summit League runners-up), a spring tournament at Boise State, and a one-off dual at the always-strong University of Portland.

The Griz will then play three of the other top six teams in the Big Sky preseason poll at home, however, including key matchups against the defending regular season league champions Northern Arizona (picked second in this year's preseason poll) and Idaho State (picked third).

The whole scenario tees-up an opportunity for Montana to cap the 2026 season with GOAT status, just the way this group of Grizzlies likes it.

"We sold it to the players this fall as, if we get another title – a regular season title or win the tournament – we could cement this group as the greatest to ever come through here and leave a real lasting legacy, and these guys are hungry for that. I think they want to prove the body of work they've put in will make this one of the best, if not the best, program in the Big Sky. The seniors especially want to put a stamp on this thing and go out in style, so to speak," said Brown.

"I think everybody is really hungry for that and understands tennis is like basketball in that no one is going totally undefeated. We're going to see some losses, but how we respond is what's important. We've got a tough schedule to start the season. We may start 5-0 or we might start with a losing record. How we respond will determine how we do in April. That's the thing that matters. We'll be measured by how we do in one week in Phoenix at the end of April."

2026 Big Sky Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Montana (6) – 48
2. Northern Arizona (2) – 44
3. Idaho State – 35
4. Idaho – 33
5. Montana State – 24
6. Weber State – 17
7. Sacramento State – 12
8. Portland State – 11

Parenthesis denotes first-place vote

University of Montana Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Tom Bittner

Moritz Lesjak

Duncan McCall

Eivind Tandberg

Joseph Townes

Matt Upton

Baltazar Wiger-Nordas

Johnny Wilkinson

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