Wingate Named SAC Preseason Favorite

August 3rd, 2026 8:00am

ROCK HILL, S.C. (theSAC.com) – The Wingate Bulldogs have been voted as the favorites in the 2026 SAC Preseason Football Coaches’ Poll. The Bulldogs garnered two first-place votes and five second-place votes to come out on top.

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The Bulldogs were the 2024 SAC Football Champions and came just short of defending that title in 2025. Wingate was 9-3 overall and 7-2 in conference play a season ago, finishing in second place. The Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Playoff for the third time in the past four years but were upset by Benedict in the First Round. The three Wingate losses in 2025 were by a combined nine points, including two by a single point.

The defending SAC Champion Newberry Wolves come in second in the preseason poll, with five first-place votes. Newberry had a record-setting season under D2Football.com National Coach of the Year Todd Knight. The Wolves finished the campaign with a 12-2 mark and advanced to the National Semifinal before dropping to eventual national champion Ferris St. Newberry was ranked No. 4 in the AFCA national poll to end 2025.

Lenoir-Rhyne slots in third according to the coaches’ voting while receiving two first-place votes. LR went 6-5 a season ago, including a 5-4 mark in SAC play. The Bears forced 17 turnovers in 2025, the second-most of any conference team.

Carson-Newman was picked fourth and earned 59 points and one first-place vote. The Eagles finished in a third-place tie with a 6-3 conference mark and were 7-3 overall. The C-N defense was stingy, allowing a league-best 14.5 points per game. The vaunted Eagles rushing attack once again led the conference, averaging 245.7 yards per contest, which ranked 10^th nationally.

Emory & Henry was picked to finish fifth and earned 56 points in the poll. The Wasps tied Carson-Newman with a 6-3 mark but took down the Eagles 19-13 on Oct. 4. Over the past two seasons, E&H has gone 17-5 overall and 12-5 in conference action. Much like Wingate, the Wasps three losses were by a total of 12 points.

Catawba was tabbed to finish sixth with 46 points. The top offense in the SAC last year, Catawba amassed 459.5 yards per game on offense and scored over 35 points per contest, finishing 7-4. The seven wins are the most in a season for Catawba since winning nine in 2017.

Anderson was predicted to finish seventh, the same spot that Newberry was picked to finish in the 2025 preseason poll before winning the league. In its second year as a program, Anderson won five games, including a three-game winning streak to open the season during which it outscored its opponents 99-14.

Slotting in at eighth in the preseason poll is Mars Hill. The Lions are fresh off a 2025 season that saw former head coach Tim Clifton retire before the season and Kevin Barnette move into the head coaching role. Previously, Barnette had spent 31 seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Lions. Mars Hill was 5-6 overall and 4-5 in the SAC.

UVA Wise was picked to finish ninth and Tusculum was tabbed for 10^th to round out the preseason poll.

Along with the Preseason Poll, each team submitted six Players to Watch for the upcoming season. That list is below the Coaches' Poll.

The 2026 SAC football season will kick off on Thursday, August 27, with six SAC teams in non-conference action. Check out the full schedule of games online at www.thesac.com. 

Be sure to catch all of the SAC football action online with live video streaming via the FloSports Network. Fans can sign up for FloSports by visiting https://go.flocollege.com/partner/sac. 

2026 SAC Football Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Preseason Players to Watch

Anderson
Kenny Brown, WR, R-Jr., Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Darren Lloyd, RB, R-So., Florence, S.C.
Tre Broughton, TE, Jr., Piedmont, S.C.
Scotty Miley, DL, R-So., Catawba, N.C.
Carter Wit, DB, R-Jr., Johns Creek, Ga.
Chase Brightharp, OLB, R-Jr., Trenton, S.C.

Carson-Newman
Josh Adams, RB, So., Monroe, Ga.
Terry Lemon, LB, Jr., McDonough, Ga.
Martavis Mason, DL, Sr., Ninety Six, S.C.
Isaiah Cane, DB, Sr., Antioch, Tenn.
Cruz Temple, LB, Sr., Abbeville, S.C.
Jay'Den Williams, OL, So., Moultrie, Ga.
Bennett Smith, K, Jr., Cleveland, Tenn.

Catawba
Bennett Galloway, RB, R-Jr., Chapin, S.C.
Sean McFarland, OL, Jr., Waxhaw, N.C.
Braylon Baker, DE, So., Harrisburg, N.C.
Jymiek Samson, DT, Sr., Clinton, N.C.
Jaylen Hinton, LB, Jr., Irmo, S.C.
Luke Raykovicz, DB, R-Jr., Waxhaw, N.C.

Emory & Henry
Josh Gooding, DL, Jr., Glen Allen, Va.
Connor Roberts, DL, Jr., Bluefield, Va.
Brennan Hanley, P, Jr., Smithtown, N.Y.
Cole Lambert, QB, Sr., Abingdon, Va.
Trey Secrist, OL, Sr., Buena Vista, Va.
Parker Prioleau, WR, Jr., Radford, Va.

Lenoir-Rhyne
Tye Roberson, RB, Sr., Laurens, S.C.
Rubens Joseph, OL, R-Jr., Marietta, Ga.
LJ Turner, RB, Sr., Palm Bay, Fla.
Carnell Ferguson, DL, So., Los Angeles, Calif.
Brodie Bradburn, LB, So., Carrollton, Ga.
KJ Whitehead, DB, Fr., Athens, Ga.

Mars Hill
Charlie Guinade, WR, Sr., Griffin, Ga.
Lukas Kachillo, QB, R-Jr., Mills River, N.C.
JT Way, RB, So., Atlanta, Ga.
Russell Barnette, DT, Sr., Asheville, N.C.
Jayden Alberty, C, Sr., Orlando, Fla.
Isaac Weaver, LB, Sr., Andrews, N.C.

Newberry
DeAndre Colman, WR, Jr., Hueytown, Ala.
Jonah Norris, RB, R-Jr., Lexington, S.C.
Mason Kidd, QB, R-Jr., Lawrenceville, Ga.
Mikey Blandin, LB, Sr., Charleston, S.C.
Avery McFadden, DB, R-So., Simpsonville, S.C.
Mason Grier, LB, So., Rock Hill, S.C.

Tusculum
Teddy Gleaton, QB, Jr., Waldorf, Md.
Cam Ferguson, RB, Sr., Rockmart, Ga.
Gabe McLamb, OL, Sr., Jacksonville, Fla.
Malachi Jim-Lawson, DL, Jr., London, England
Jimi Olarinde, LB, Jr., Austell, Ga.
Cam Garnett, LB, Sr., Harlem, Ga.

UVA Wise
Daniel Thomas, RB, Jr., Middlesboro, Ky.
McCalan Beason, QB, So., Hoover, Ala.
Jack Tews, OL, So., Brandon, S.D.
KD Long, DL, Sr., Huntsville, Ala.
Jalen Pickens, LB, R-Jr., Gainestown, Ala.
Braylon Henry, DB, So., Birmingham, Ala.

Wingate
Xavier Jackson, WR, R-Jr., Kennesaw, Ga.
Jesse Clinesmith, TE, R-Jr., Chinquapin, N.C.
Ethan Wallace, RB, R-Jr., Tallahassee, Fla.
Brandon Perry, DB, Sr., Indian Trail, N.C.
Tyson Brown, DE, R-Jr., Rome, Ga.
Jaden White, DB, R-Sr., Flowery Branch, Ga.