ASHLAND — A lofty bar has been set for the Southern Oregon University cross country teams after receiving their highest preseason rankings of the decade in the first NAIA Top 25 coaches' polls.

The polls, announced on Thursday by the national office, have the Raider men at No. 3 and the women at No. 10. They follow the squads' sixth- and 12th-place finishes, respectively, from the 2025 NAIA Championships. 

After turning in a pair of top-4 finishes at last year's championships, Mason Weisgerber and Carter Stedman will lead an SOU team that returns its scoring core while adding star transfer Andrew Rush from Lane C.C. 

For the women, two-time cross country All-American Alyssa Johnson will return to the grass after placing 10th at last season's championships and 32nd the year previously. 

Last week in the Cascade Conference preseason polls, the men were picked to win and the women to finish second behind College of Idaho, who charted No. 4 in the national poll. Three other men's teams from the CCC circuit cracked the Top 10: No. 6 Corban, No. 7 College of Idaho and No. 10 Trinity Western (B.C.). 

Cumberlands (Ky.) is the No. 1 team on the men's side, collecting 10 of the 20 first-place votes, unseating the defending national champions, No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan. 

On the women's side, defending champions Taylor (Ind.) remain the preseason favorite, collecting 16 first-place votes. 

SOU opens the season on Sept. 5 at the Simpson Invitational in Cottonwood, Calif.  

2026 NAIA Men's Top 25 Preseason Poll

RANK	INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES]	POINTS
1	Cumberlands (Ky.) [10]	542
2	Indiana Wesleyan [7]	540
3	Southern Oregon	522
4	Milligan (Tenn.) [1]	499
5	The Master's (Calif.) [2]	486
6	Corban (Ore.)	436
7	College of Idaho	434
8	Marian (Ind.)	405
9	Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)	404
10	Trinity Western (B.C.)	395
11	Taylor (Ind.)	357
12	Madonna (Mich.)	355
13	Eastern Oregon	353
14	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	345
15	Saint Mary (Kan.)	334
16	Goshen (Ind.)	323
17	Park (Mo.)	280
18	Rio Grande (Ohio)	225
T-19	Carroll (Mont.)	200
T-19	Doane (Neb.)	200
21	Mid-America Christian (Okla.)	164
22	Cornerstone (Mich.)	153
23	Montreat (N.C.)	135
24	St. Francis (Ill.)	123
25	Spring Arbor (Mich.)	117

Receiving Votes: IU East (Ind.), Tennessee Southern, Aquinas (Mich.), Northwest (Wash.), Dordt (Iowa), Columbia (Mo.), Oklahoma City, Ave Maria (Fla.), Haskell Indian Nations (Kan.), Oregon Tech, Kansas Wesleyan, Benedictine (Kan.), Concordia (Neb.), John Brown (Ark.), Mount Mercy (Iowa).

2026 NAIA Women's Top 25 Preseason Poll

RANK	INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES]	POINTS
1	Taylor (Ind.) [16]	557
2	Milligan (Tenn.) [1]	533
3	Dordt (Iowa) [2]	532
4	College of Idaho [1]	504
5	Cornerstone (Mich.)	460
6	Marian (Ind.)	452
7	The Master's (Calif.)	449
8	Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)	441
9	Indiana Wesleyan	403
10	Southern Oregon	383
11	Cumberlands (Ky.)	363
12	St. Francis (Ill.)	356
13	Benedictine (Kan.)	324
14	Oklahoma City	317
15	Grace (Ind.)	302
16	Saint Mary (Kan.)	286
17	Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)	278
18	Kansas Wesleyan	272
19	Carroll (Mont.)	247
20	Eastern Oregon	224
21	Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)	174
22	Aquinas (Mich.)	172
23	Montreat (N.C.)	167
24	Rio Grande (Ohio)	166
25	SCAD (Ga.)	85

Receiving Votes: Mount Mercy (Iowa), Governors State (Ill.), Montana Tech, Missouri Baptist, IU East (Ind.), Saint Francis (Ind.), Morningside (Iowa), Our Lady of the Lake (Texas), Trinity Western (B.C.), William Carey (Miss.), Arizona Christian, Evangel (Mo.), St. Ambrose (Iowa)