DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake Bulldog football team landed in second on the 2026 Pioneer Football League Preseason Coaches' Poll, the conference announced today.

Drake, now under the direction of 2025 NCAA Division III national championship coach Matt Walker, earned 88 points to edge St. Thomas for second in the poll. The Bulldogs garnered five first place nods, one runner-up vote, and two more third place votes.

Walker, who is Drake's third head coach in as many years, will look to keep the Bulldogs' championship status as the Blue and White will be seeking its fourth straight league crown.

For a second consecutive season, the University of San Diego is the preseason PFL favorite. The Toreros claimed the top spot in what the league's coaches see as an extremely tight race for the league's 34th championship, with only three points separating the Top 3 teams in the poll. San Diego claimed five first-place votes while amassing 90 points. The Toreros are seeking their first PFL title since sharing the 2021 championship.

The University of St. Thomas was the lone team in the Top 3 to receive all its votes in one of the top three positions, including one first-place vote, and finished with 87 points.
The University of Dayton is the coaches' pick to finish fourth with 69 points, just ahead of Butler University, which received 67 points. Marist University sits in the sixth position in the poll with 52 points.

Presbyterian College, the surprise of the 2025 season with a best-ever second-place finish, is picked seventh to start the 2026 campaign under new head coach Matt Rahl after scoring 47 points in the poll. Morehead State (38 points) is eighth in the poll, followed by Davidson College in ninth with 33 points, Stetson University in 10th with 22 points, and Valparaiso University in 11th with 12 points.  

The upcoming 2026 season marks the 34th season of the Pioneer Football League. The league will feature 11 teams, each playing an eight-game schedule to determine the league champion and recipient of the automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Championship. Nine teams playing during Week Zero, beginning with four games on Thursday, August 27. The race for the 2026 PFL Championship begins on September 26 with four games, including Drake's conference-opener at Davidson.

Each of the league's 11 head coaches voted in the PFL Preseason Coaches' Poll and were not able to vote for their own teams. The league will present its 2026 Preseason All-PFL Team on Tuesday.