KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has released the preseason edition of the 2026 Netting Professionals-NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll. Carroll College checks in at No. 11 in the initial poll of the nation's coaches.
Following a 2025 campaign that saw Carroll finish at No. 13 in the national poll, the Fighting Saints will begin the 2026 season as the No. 11-ranked team in the NAIA.
After beginning the season at the No. 25 spot in 2025, the Saints made steady progress throughout the year. Carroll went 9-3 overall and 5-1 in Frontier-West divisional play. The body of work was strong enough for the Saints to host, and win, their first NAIA Football Championship Series game at Nelson Stadium since 2014, beating St. Thomas (Fla.) in the opening round.
This year Carroll will look to repeat the upward trend throughout the season; however, the task grows more difficult with only 10 teams in the nation ranked higher.
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Carroll is one of six teams in the Frontier Conference to appear either ranked or in the receiving votes portion of the poll. The Saints are joined by No. 4 College of Idaho, No. 5 Montana Tech, No. 18 Montana Western, No. 25 Dakota State, and (RV) Dickinson State.
The No. 11 team in the ranks will be one of the first in the nation to hit the field, as the Saints officially kick off their 2026 season Thursday evening at 6 p.m., welcoming MSU-Northern to town for a non-conference tilt on Valley Bank Field at Nelson Stadium. Tickets for the game are available online HERE.
