INDIANAPOLIS – Indianapolis was voted in the preseason coaches’ poll presented by Primo Designs as the top choice to win the 2026 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) football tile, the league office announced on Friday.
The preseason poll is selected by the league’s nine head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own team, per GLVC bylaws.
No. 1 Indianapolis
- Received seven of the possible eight first-place votes and 63 total points.
- Head coach Chris Keevers enters his eighth season at the helm of the program, recording a 11-2 overall and 8-0 conference record, capped off with his fifth league crown.
- Finished season ranked No. 10 in American Football Coaches’ Association (AFCA) poll, reaching as high as No. 8.
- Garnered fourth consecutive NCAA Division II playoff bid last year, falling to Minnesota State in the second round.
- UIndy returns 13 starters, including 5 on offense and 6 on defense.
- Garrett Sherell (RB), 2025 All-GLVC First Team, leads the returning offensive starters.
- The returning defensive starters are led by Alvin Contreras (LB) and Eli Liapis (SAF), both 2025 All-GLVC First Team selections.
No. 2 Truman State
- Received the other two first-place votes and 58 total points.
- Have won one GLVC title when it shared the crown in 2016 with Southwest Baptist.
- Head coach Kellen Nesbitt enters his third season after recording an 8-4 overall record and 7-1 in conference play in 2025, earning the title of 2025 GLVC Coach of the Year.
- Earned fifth NCAA DII playoff bid in program history and first since 1994 last year, falling to Indianapolis in the first round.
- Truman returns 17 starters, including 9 on offense and 4 on defense.
- The returning offensive starters are led by senior Dylan Hair (QB) and senior Nathan Ryan(WR), 2025 All-GLVC Second Team selections.
- Senior Jack Weltha (LB), 2025 All-GLVC First Team, leads the returning defensive starters.
No. 3 Upper Iowa
- Received 46 total points.
- Head coach Jason Hoskins enters his fifth season, recording a 9-3 overall and 6-2 conference record last year, the most overall wins in program history.
- Secured first postseason victory in the team’s history with nine-point win over Hillsdale in the Albanese Candy Bowl.
- Upper Iowa returns 5 starters, including 2 offensive and 3 defensive.
- Two key returning players did not play in 2025 due to injury, Michael Mulherin (LB) and RJ Wells (RB).
No. 4 Missouri S&T
- Received 40 total points.
- Head coach Andy Ball enters his fifth season at the helm, finishing with a 6-5 overall record and 4-4 in conference play last year.
- S&T returns 17 starters, including 10 on offense and 4 on defense.
- On the offensive side, a trio of All-GLVC Second Team performers – Evan Wells (RB), Reid Weber (WR), and Austin Mahoney (OL) – highlights the returning starters.
- Seneca Bradley Jr. (LB) leads the defensive returning starters.
2026 GLVC FOOTBALL PRESEASON POLL
|
Place
|
School
|
Points (first-place votes)
|
|
1.
|
Indianapolis
|
63 (7)
|
|
2.
|
Truman State
|
58 (2)
|
|
3.
|
Upper Iowa
|
46
|
|
4.
|
Missouri S&T
|
40
|
|
5.
|
Quincy
|
33
|
|
T-6.
|
McKendree
|
27
|
|
T-6.
8.
9.
|
Southwest Baptist
William Jewell
Lincoln
|
27
22
8
|