CLEVELAND, OH – After capturing the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) title in their first season in the league, the John Carroll Blue Streaks have been selected to repeat as the NCAC champions, according to balloting of the league's football coaches.

John Carroll secured six of the 10 first-place votes and totaled 95 points overall to claim the top spot in the 2026 NCAC Football Preseason Coaches' Poll. DePauw was picked a close second with four first-place votes and 93 points. Wabash followed in third with 76 points, while Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) (68) and Denison (57) rounded out the top five. Wittenberg (51), Ohio Wesleyan (38), Wooster (36), Kenyon (22) and Oberlin (14) completed the poll in sixth through 10th, respectively.

John Carroll enters the 2026 season under new leadership, as Brian Polian '97 takes over as the program's 21st head coach. Last season, the Blue Streaks earned the 2025 NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year honor after leading JCU to a perfect 8-0 conference mark, the program's first conference title since 2016, and a 12-2 overall record. After punching their ticket to the NCAA Division III Championship, John Carroll opened the tournament with a 35-6 win over No. 20 Randolph-Macon. The Blue Streaks then knocked off No. 2 Mount Union, 10-7, in double overtime and No. 17 Berry, 21-13, before falling 41-21 at top-ranked North Central in the semifinals.

In 2025, John Carroll paced the NCAC in numerous statistical categories and returns 10 all-conference performers, including first-team selection, graduate student Grant Myers (Youngstown, OH/Howland); second-team honorees, seniors Jacob Hufnagel (Pittsburg, PA/Upper St. Clair), Troy Mrukowski (Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty), Colin Schuler (Westerville, OH/New Albany), and Shane Lindstrom (North Lima, OH/Sou), who was also a third team selection, and junior Dylan Crasi (Aurora, OH/Aurora); and third-team selections, senior Ben Dehmer (Columbus, OH/New Albany), junior Gino Blasini (Kirtland, OH/Kirtland) and sophomores Michael O'Rourke (Naperville, IL/Benet Academy) and Jack McKinnon (Dover, OH/Dover).

The 2026 season welcomes new competition to the North Coast as WashU begins its first season of NCAC football. The Bears join the league after posting a 7-2 record in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) and an 8-3 overall mark in 2025.

All 10 NCAC football teams will open the 2026 season with non-conference matchups, with Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan kicking off the season on Thursday, September 3, and the rest of the league following on Saturday, September 5. Conference play begins on Thursday, September 10, when Denison hosts Oberlin, before the remaining eight teams join the conference slate on Saturday, September 12, as Kenyon hosts Wooster, John Carroll travels to Ohio Wesleyan, Wabash welcomes Wittenberg and DePauw visits WashU.