WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State was listed among the teams receiving votes in the AFCA Preseason Top 25 Poll, released on Tuesday (Aug. 18). This is the third-straight year the Tigers were among the receiving votes list in the preseason poll.
Six of the 10 programs in the MIAA were referenced in the poll. Pittsburg State and Northwest Missouri State are both ranked in the top 10 nationally to start the season, PSU at No. 4 and NWMSU at No. 8. Fort Hays State joined Central Oklahoma, Central Missouri, and Nebraska-Kearney in the receiving votes list. FHSU received 13 voting points in the poll.
The Tigers will face a team also among the receiving votes list to open the 2026 season. Angelo State received four voting points in the poll. The Tigers and Rams are meeting in the season opener for the third-straight year, this time in San Angelo, Texas on August 27 at 7 p.m. FHSU's first home game will be on September 3 against CSU Pueblo, which enters the season ranked No. 6 nationally in the preseason poll. The Tigers defeated CSU Pueblo last year in Pueblo when the Thunderwolves were ranked No. 5 nationally, which in turn was the highest AFCA ranked opponent the Tigers defeated in their NCAA Division II history.
Below is the AFCA Preseason Top 25 Poll for 2026.
| Rank |
School |
2025 Rec. |
Pts. |
2025 Final Rank |
| 1 |
Ferris St. (31) |
16-0 |
775 |
1 |
| 2 |
Harding |
15-1 |
738 |
2 |
| 3 |
Kutztown |
14-1 |
684 |
3 |
| 4 |
Pittsburg St. |
10-3 |
647 |
6 |
| 5 |
Minnesota St. |
10-4 |
587 |
8 |
| 6 |
Colorado St.-Pueblo |
10-2 |
581 |
11 |
| 7 |
Central Washington |
10-2 |
478 |
13 |
| 8 |
Northwest Missouri St. |
9-3 |
470 |
17 |
| 9t |
Grand Valley St. |
7-3 |
451 |
NR |
| 9t |
UIndy |
11-2 |
451 |
10 |
| 11 |
Western Colorado |
10-3 |
379 |
12 |
| 12 |
Minnesota-Duluth |
10-2 |
372 |
16 |
| 13 |
Ashland |
10-3 |
328 |
15 |
| 14 |
Virginia Union |
9-3 |
318 |
21 |
| 15 |
Newberry |
12-2 |
276 |
4 |
| 16 |
Findlay |
10-2 |
250 |
19 |
| 17 |
Frostburg St. |
11-3 |
228 |
14 |
| 18 |
UT Permian Basin |
11-3 |
197 |
5 |
| 19 |
Wingate |
9-3 |
183 |
NR |
| 20 |
Augustana (S.D.) |
9-2 |
181 |
25 |
| 21 |
Albany St. |
12-2 |
172 |
7 |
| 22 |
Western Oregon |
8-3 |
165 |
NR |
| 23 |
Johnson C. Smith |
10-2 |
159 |
18 |
| 24 |
Ouachita Baptist |
7-4 |
146 |
NR |
| 25 |
Indiana (Pa.) |
7-4 |
97 |
NR |
Receiving Votes: Valdosta St., 86; Chadron St., 83; Central Oklahoma, 64; North Greenville, 61; Slippery Rock, 56; California (Pa.), 53; Northwood, 50; Delta St., 33; Michigan Tech, 31; Assumption, 29; Bentley, 27; Benedict, 25; Lenoir-Rhyne, 21; Colorado School of Mines, 18; Northeastern St., 16; Southern Arkansas, 14; Charleston, 13;
Fort Hays St., 13; Truman St., 13; West Texas A&M, 10; UNC Pembroke, 8; Central Missouri, 7; Edward Waters, 7; Henderson St., 6; Angelo St., 4; East Stroudsburg, 4; Nebraska-Kearney, 4; Upper Iowa, 3; Davenport, 2; Carson-Newman, 1.
