The winner of the 2025 SCIAC Championship Game has unanimously been selected to top the standings this upcoming season in the 2026 Football Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
Chapman earned all eight first-place votes, while California Lutheran trailed behind with 52 points. Just eight points seperated third-place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (46) and fifth-place Redlands (38). Pomona-Pitzer came in fourth with 42 points.
In a tilt that came down to the wire, the Cougars bested the Kingsmen in last year's conference title game, 27-17. Chapman also went on to defeat Whitworth University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars will continue to be led by Head Coach Casey Shine, who spent 2025 as the Interim Head Coach before being promoted to the permanent Head Coach this past March. After posting the program's first unbeaten conference record since 2021, Shine and his staff were named the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year.
On the field, Chapman will look to re-tool following the graduation of stars Tyler Pacheco and Tate Zimmerman, who were named the league's Offensive and Defensive Athletes of the Year, respectively. However, Fischer Huss is set for his senior season out of the backfield after recording 815 rushing yards and six touchdowns en route to a First Team All-Conference selection. The defense is also returning key starters in Andrew Buck, Jacob Gaudi, and Tyler Boynton, all of whom earned an All-SCIAC nod in 2025. Buck recorded the second-most tackles in the league last year with 81.0, including 9.0 for loss. Gaudi was just behind him with 76.0 tackles to go along with three interceptions and two sacks. Boynton bolstered the defensive line with 8.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.
Cal Lutheran's dynamic offense will continue to feature rising sophomore quarterback Joe Farley along with senior pass catchers Tyler Woodworth and TeNorris Merkel. Farley threw for 1,759 yards and nine touchdowns last season, with Woodworth and Merkel accounting for 1,191 and six touchdowns. Their efforts landed each of them on the All-SCIAC teams. The team's top two tacklers from a year ago are also taking the field in 2026 in Drew Nees and Logan Bowers. Nees was a force in the backfield with 14.0 tackles for loss and conference-best 8.5 sacks. He was also tied for the most interceptions in the SCIAC with four. Bowers followed with 7.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.
Other prominent players returning in 2026 include Redlands' Mark Mitchell, who led the conference in rushing yards (830) and was named the Newcomer of the Year, the reiging SCIAC receiving yards champion Jackson Walker from Pomona-Pitzer, and the league's 2025 leading tackler George Kruger from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
This season is especially highlighted by the introduction of Azusa Pacific and the return of Whittier, who make their comeback after a four-year hiatus. Though this is the Cougars' first season in Division III, they are taking the field for the first time since 2019, when they were a Division II program.
2026 SCIAC Football Preseason Poll
1. Chapman - 64 points (eight first-place votes)
2. California Lutheran - 52 points
3. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps - 46 points
4. Pomona-Pitzer - 42 points
5. Redlands - 38 points
6. La Verne - 26 points
7. Azusa Pacific - 16 points
8. Whittier - 9 points