The 2026 NCAA D2 football season is just 22 short days away. As the season ramps up, the Lone Star Conference is ready to hit the ground running with the conclusion of LSC Football Media Day on Jul. 23.
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The event, which took place in at the McKinney ISD Football Stadium, in McKinney, Texas saw all 10 LSC football teams. Each team brought two student-athletes and their head coach.
Institutions were able see pre-season accolades, discuss their thoughts on the upcoming season and speak to local media after the event concluded. With top teams like Central Washington, Western Oregon and West Texas A&M all vying for the top spot, it is anyone's ball game heading in to 2026.
FloCollege was on sight in McKinney and here are the five biggest takeaways we gathered from LSC Media Day.
1. Central Washington Heads Up The Preseason Poll,
We can't talk about football season without talking about every football fans "favorite topic." Dun, Dun, Dun, the Preseason poll. In the LSC, it's the Central Washington Wildcats who head up the No. 1 spot in the 2026 poll. The Wildcats won the conference in 2025 and are looking to repeat their success in the '26 season.
Here is the full preseason poll.
Preseason Poll:
- Central Washington
- Western Oregon
- West Texas A&M
- Angelo State
- UT Permian Basin
- Texas A&M-Kingsville
- Eastern New Mexico
- Midwestern State
- Western New Mexico
- Sul Ross State University
THE LSC HAS SPOKEN 📢
— FloCollege | Football (@FloCollegeFB) July 23, 2026
Central Washington is slated to take home the conference title in the 2026 Preseason Rankings.
📺: https://t.co/b5NYPyqVfe#LSC | @LoneStarConf pic.twitter.com/KJq5zr3F0f
2. The LSC Preseason Players of The Year Are "A Tier" Athletes
Along with the preseason poll, the preseason players of the year were announced in McKinney.
Wildcats' linebacker Brycen Indell picked up the LSC Preseason Defensive Player of The Year award.
Indell had a short 2025 season, after suffering an injury that only saw him appear in three games. During those three games, Indell tallied 5 tackles. While the '25 season may have been short, in 2023 and 2024 seasons combined, Indell contributed 59 tackles to the CWU defense.
On the offensive side of the football, quarterback Jordan McCarty picked up the LSC Offensive Preseason Player of The Year award.
McCarty prepares of start his final campaign of regular season with the Western Oregon Wolves. McCarty will sit at the helm of this Wolves' offense and after 2025 season that saw the quarterback have six rushing touchdowns, 12 passing touchdown, 507 yards on the ground and 1,521 yards through the air, the sky is the limit for the Wolves this season.
Here is the full list of the LSC Players to Watch.
Players to Watch:
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
- Jordan McCarty, Western Oregon, QB
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
- Brycen Indell, Central Washington, LB
Preseason Offensive Players to Watch
- Cameron Dischler, Angelo State, RB
- Tyler Luzan, Central Washington, OL
- Robert Nora, Eastern New Mexico, WR
- Paul Ledet, Midwestern State, OL
- Ryan Van Roekel, Sul Ross State, WR
- Christian Kretz, Texas A&M-Kingsville, WR
- Traylen Suel, UT Permian Basin, WR
- Contae Cason, West Texas A&M, RB
- Daniel Gonzalez, Western New Mexico, OL
- Jordan McCarty, Western Oregon, QB
Preseason Defensive Players to Watch
- Eugene "Tre" Liger, Angelo State, DB
- Brycen Indell, Central Washington, LB
- Matthew Quartieri, Eastern New Mexico, LB
- Charles McKnight, Midwestern State, DL
- Emmanuel Osom, Sul Ross State, LB
- Jeremiah Conaway, Texas A&M-Kingsville, DB
- Godgive Ugochukwu, UT Permian Basin, DL
- Miles Hill, West Texas A&M, DB
- Clayton Zentner, Western New Mexico, DB
- Nijawn Sterling, Western Oregon, DL
3. It's A Brand New Era For Three LSC Teams
Yes, you read this heading correctly. It is a brand new era for three LSC schools who each have brand new first year head coaches.
Eastern New Mexico has possibly the biggest hire in the conference as long time coaching legend Art Briles heads to Portales to coach the Greyhounds.
Briles has a positive outlook on the 2026 season quoting:
"This is a new era, new time. I'm grateful and excited...anything to do with Texas and New Mexico, I'm in."
Aside from the potential Briles brings to the table from his years of coaching collegiate and high school football in Texas, he also brings in experience from coaching overseas where his most recent experience saw him coach the Italian team Guelfi Firenze.
The second new coach in the LSC takes us to Central Washington. The Wildcats have called on Scott Power as their new head coach.
Power's come from a years of success as a defensive corrdinator. He most recently coached a University of Wisconsin - Madison but has also coached at other programs such as Western Michigan and Louisiana Tech.
The final new head coach in the Lone Star takes the helm at UT Permian Basin. The Falcons appointed Chris Softley as their head coach in December.
Softley steps in to his first full time collegiate position after a successful tenure at Lubbock Christian School. The new coach ended his high school coaching career with a TAPPS State Title.
Will this high school coach make his mark in the 2026 season? Only time will tell?
4.) The LSC Is Not Playing Around With The Non-Conference Games This Year
The non-conference schedule or as I like to call it, "the warm-up period" is a prime time for these teams to get their feet wet and figure out how they gel as a team. Well for the LSC, this is not the case in Week 0 or Week 1.
Huge games that put Super-Region rivals up against each other and even a D1 competitor highlight the opening weeks of D2 football in the south region.
WTAMU opens their season at home taking on RMAC and Super Region rival Western Colorado and then turns around and travels to take on Grand Valley State the following week.
Angelo State kicks off the season with Fort Hayes State at home and then travels to take on Western Colorado.
Central Washington takes on D1 Cal Poly and then heads back home to take on the defending national champion Ferris State.
Western Oregon opens its season with Colorado School of Mines while Midwestern State gets Missouri Southern and Michigan Tech in its opening weeks.
With other of top competition showing off in the remaining LSC school's schedule, there is not easing in to 2026 for this conference. These schools have to be on their "A" game as of yesterday, honestly.
If the teams don't show up, not only are they starting the season in the 'L' column, but they are looking at some serious repercussions when it comes time for Regional rankings to determine the post-season.
It is now or never for the LSC schools and the toughest team will win the fight. Are these teams going to step up to the challenge, or will it be a rocky start to the season for one of the toughest conferences of football?
2026 Lone Star Conference 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 released 👀🏈📅#LSCfb #D2fb @FloCollegeFB pic.twitter.com/1EWS4XczhX
— Lone Star Conference (@LoneStarConf) May 14, 2026
5. Sul Ross State Is Officially Offical
You heard it hear first folks, Sul Ross State is offically eligible to compete for LSC Championships.
After its probation period, the Lobos are coming in to the new season feeling hopeful that this could be their year.
Head coach Lee Hayes seemed optimistic at Media Day saying this when asked what he sees in his team ahead of the 2026 season:
"I think effort, overall effort. In order to win, we have to be able to out-execute and play harder than everybody we play. I think the kids have finally understood that it's max effort for the ball and we are at a point at a depth standpoint that we can ensure that it will happen."
Well, there you have it. The five biggest takeaways from the LSC Media Day on Jul. 23 and there are some big ones. From schedules, to players and new faces in the building, buckle up football fans, this season in the Lone Star is going to be the Wild Wild West.
Fans can tune in to Lone Star Conference football all season long live on FloCollege starting Aug. 27.
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