RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – The Ouachita Baptist University football team has been voted No. 2 in the 2026 Great American Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll released on Tuesday.

The Tigers are coming off a 7-4 record in 2025 for the program's 17th consecutive winning season, which is the longest active streak among all college football programs in the state of Arkansas.

Ouachita finished in a tie for fourth last year in the GAC standings, but are picked slightly ahead of Southern Arkansas and Henderson State in the preseason poll. Defending conference champion and national runner-up Harding is the unanimous favorite for No. 1 among the league's head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own team.

Under the leadership of 28th-year head coach Todd Knight, who became the state of Arkansas' all-time winningest college football coach last season, Ouachita enters 2026 with a core group of returners on both sides of the ball, including senior receiver and return specialist Carter McElhany and junior linebacker Justin Crutchmer, both All-GAC First Team performers in 2025.

Other all-conference returners for the Tigers include senior receiver Bo Baker, sophomore quarterback Tre Nichols, senior running back Chris Henley, Jr., senior defensive end Joey Ortego, sophomore defensive tackle Gabe Williams, sophomore linebacker Kahlil Smith, and junior long snapper Braden Reed. Also back after missing the 2025 season with injury is sophomore offensive lineman Isaiah Simpson, who was the GAC Freshman of the Year in 2024.

Among the newcomers expected to make an impact for the 2026 squad include sophomore receiver AJ Jayroe, who has played at two different NCAA Division I schools; offensive lineman Wyatt Payne, a transfer from UTPB; sophomore offensive lineman Vinny Winters, a transfer from UCA out of Malvern; graduate safety Kris Robinson, a transfer from ULM; and graduate safety Dante Thomas, who played a significant role at Coastal Carolina last season.

Ouachita opens the 2026 season on Thursday, September 3 at home against East Central for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Kluck-Benson Field at Cliff Harris Stadium. General admission tickets can be purchased at www.OBUtigers.com/FootballTickets.

2026 GAC FOOTBALL PRESEASON COACHES' POLL

1. Harding, 121, 11 first-place votes
2. Ouachita, 103, 1 first-place vote
3. Southern Arkansas, 99
4. Henderson State, 95
5. Arkansas Tech, 78
6. East Central, 68
7. Southwestern Oklahoma State, 67
8. Southeastern Oklahoma State, 53
9. Arkansas-Monticello, 38
10. Oklahoma Baptist, 30
11. Southern Nazarene, 24
12. Northwestern Oklahoma State, 16