By: Paxton Ritchie
CSC Sports Information Director
CHADRON, Neb. – After a 2025 season that saw the Eagles make the NCAA playoffs for the first time in over a decade, the Chadron State football program has been picked to finish fourth in the RMAC in 2026, based on a vote of the league's head coaches, while four Eagles earned a Preseason All-RMAC accolade.
Chadron State earned one first-place vote, one second-place vote and three third-place votes in the poll, accumulating a total of 60 points. Defending conference champion CSU Pueblo led the poll with 80 points and eight first-place votes, while Western Colorado (69 points, 1 first/5 second/2 third) and Colorado School of Mines (62 points, 0 first/2 second/4 third) also finished just ahead of CSC in preseason voting.
Behind Chadron State, Colorado Mesa ranks fifth with one second place and one third place vote. The poll is rounded out by New Mexico Highlands in sixth followed by South Dakota Mines, Black Hills State, Fort Lewis and Adams State, with none of those programs receiving any votes in the top three.
Chadron State had four players – quarterback Aidan Thompson, offensive lineman Dominic Castanon, defensive end William Stemler and linebacker Cooper Walton – named to the Preseason All-RMAC team, which is determined by the leading vote getters at each position from last season's all-conference voting that are returning to the league this season.
Chadron State's four preseason All-RMAC selections are tied for third-most in the conference with Colorado Mesa, trailing Western Colorado and Colorado School of Mines.
The Eagles are up in the preseason poll from a year ago, when the team was picked seventh but finished second in the league standings with an 8-1 conference record. Chadron State was in contention for the RMAC title until the final week of the regular season.
Reigning RMAC Coach of the Year Jay Long returns for his 15th season in charge of the Eagle program, while last year's RMAC Defensive Player of the Year (Logan O'Brien), Special Teams Player of the Year (Brodie Eisenbraun), and two other All-Americans (Tommy Thomas, Wilson Yee) are among those who have graduated and exhausted their college eligibility.
The Eagles open the 2026 season on Thursday, August 27 on the road against Northern State of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). CSC's home opener will be the following Thursday, September 3 against Nebraska-Kearney at 6 p.m.
Chadron State opens the RMAC schedule by facing the three teams ranked above them in the preseason poll in consecutive weeks, as the Eagles will take on Western Colorado on the road on September 12 followed by home games against CSU Pueblo on September 19 and Colorado School of Mines on September 26.