UC Santa Barbara Men’s Soccer Head Coach Tim Vom Steeg announced the Gauchos’ 2026 schedule on Wednesday, unveiling a competitive 18-game slate that features five NCAA Tournament participants and 10 total home matches at Harder Stadium.
Three of those tournament teams are on the home schedule, with Marshall, San Diego and Oregon State all set to visit Santa Barbara this fall.
Season tickets to secure a seat at all 10 home matches are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets.
In the preseason, UC Santa Barbara will host its annual Blue-Gold intrasquad scrimmage on Aug. 8, then play an exhibition against LMU on Aug. 14. The curtain rises on the 2026 campaign on Aug. 21, when the Gauchos will host San Jose State.
Santa Barbara remains at home for two marquee matches, welcoming Marshall on Aug. 28 for the Thundering Herd’s first-ever visit to Santa Barbara. Four days later, on Aug. 31, the Gauchos will host reigning West Coast Conference Champions San Diego. The last time the Toreros visited Harder Stadium, Santa Barbara ran out as 7-1 winners in 2021.
The Gauchos start September with a colossal road trip, traveling east to face 2025 NCAA Tournament participants Cornell on Sept. 4, then Rutgers in New Jersey on Sept. 7.
Before returning to Harder Stadium, Santa Barbara makes a stop in Arizona to take on Grand Canyon on Sept. 12. The Antelopes are coming off a run to the Sweet 16 in 2025.
Back at home on Sept. 17, the Gauchos will host San Diego State before hosting Oregon State on Sept. 20 as part of UC Santa Barbara’s Welcome Weekend. As is tradition, the Gauchos conclude non-conference play with the first leg of the Blue-Green Rivalry against Cal Poly, traveling to face the Mustangs in San Luis Obispo on Sept. 25.
Santa Barbara then opens Big West play on Sept. 30 by hosting Sacramento State. The Gauchos then take on new conference members Utah Valley on Oct. 3. Santa Barbara has played the Wolverines three times before and has scored at least four goals in each of those matches.
Oct. 7 brings the first conference road trip of the year, with the Gauchos heading to Bakersfield. Then, on Oct. 10, Santa Barbara hosts the second leg of the Blue-Green Rivalry with Cal Poly.
That match is the first of three crossover contests as part of The Big West’s partnership with the Pac-12. The Gauchos’ second crossover fixture takes them to Spokane, Washington on Oct. 14, where they will play Gonzaga.
It is back to Big West action on Oct. 17, when Santa Barbara will visit Cal State Fullerton, then one final crossover match on Oct. 21 as the Gauchos host California Baptist. Santa Barbara concludes its Big West slate on Oct. 24 and 31, visiting UC Irvine and hosting CSUN in that order.
The Big West Championship will take place in early November. Under the conference’s partnership with the Pac-12, the Gauchos’ only competitors for Big West supremacy are Sacramento State, Utah Valley, Cal State Bakersfield, Utah Valley, Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine and CSUN.
The Big West’s other member institutions — Cal Poly, California Baptist, UC Riverside and UC San Diego — will join San Diego State, Oregon State and Gonzaga in making up the Pac-12.