The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association released its 2025-26 Preseason Coaches Polls on Wednesday and the Forester women were listed fourth.

Voting is done by the NCHA head coaches. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (10 points for first, nine for second, etc.).

The Foresters finished with 70 points in the poll, eight fewer than third-place Concordia University Wisconsin and 10 more than fifth-place Aurora University. Adrian College was listed first with 94 points, one more than St. Norbert College.

Lake Forest was 13-12-3 overall in 2024-25 and finished fourth in the league standings at 8-7-3 in conference play. The team also defeated Aurora in the quarterfinals of the NCHA Slaats Clup Playoffs and advanced to the semifinals for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons. Six of the 10 Foresters who reached double figures in points and two of the team's three goaltenders are back this season.

Amy Budde, who graduated from the College in 2019 after a stellar four-year career on the ice, will begin her second season as Lake Forest's head coach with a series at the University of Wisconsin-Superior October 31-November 1. The team will begin its slate of 18 NCHA contests at Aurora University the next Friday and the regular season will conclude at Milwaukee School of Engineering on February 14. The top eight teams in the conference will qualify for the Slaats Cup Playoffs.
 

PLACE	TEAM (First Place Votes)	POINTS
1	Adrian College (5)	94
2	St. Norbert College (4)	93
3	Concordia University Wisconsin	78
4	Lake Forest (1)	70
5	Aurora University	60
6	Marian University	49
7	Trine University	32
8	Lawrence University	29
9	University of Dubuque	27
10	Milwaukee School of Engineering	18