KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) released its first Men's Cross Country Regular Season Coaches' Top 25 Poll for the 2026 season on Thursday morning, where the Corban University men's cross country team remains firmly among the nation's elite, checking in at No. 8 in the latest national rankings.

To view the most recent NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll, click HERE.

"Not a huge surprise to drop a couple of spots considering we still haven't seen our top runners compete yet," began Corban head coach Stuart Eagon. "One of our top five is still working to get completely healthy, but the rest are ready to go for our next meet in just over a week's time. Our focus remains on running well at the conference and national meets, so we don't try to get too caught up in all of the early season rankings. We did a time trial last week as a group and I am very pleased with the results I saw. This is going to be a lot of fun over the next month, and we're just grateful to be recognized in the national scene."

After opening the season ranked sixth in the preseason poll, the Warriors slipped two spots to No. 8 despite remaining one of the highest-ranked programs in the highly competitive Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC). Corban sits behind only Southern Oregon University (T-2nd) and College of Idaho (5th) among CCC institutions while continuing to position itself as a legitimate national championship contender.

The Navy and Gold entered the 2026 campaign following a historic 2025 season that culminated in a 13th-place finish at the NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship in Tallahassee, Florida. The Warriors placed two runners among the nation's top 35 individually, led by NAIA All-American Jack Gladfelter, who earned an 11th-place finish and leads the team this season as a senior returner, while recent program graduate Zander Moha crossed the line 34th overall. Those performances helped establish Corban as one of the NAIA's premier distance-running programs entering the current season, where they have allowed their developmental squad to take center stage during the first two meet results of the year.

Nationally, Cumberlands (Ky.) maintained its hold on the No. 1 ranking with 17 first-place votes, while Southern Oregon University climbed into a tie for second alongside defending national champion Indiana Wesleyan University. The Master's University and C of I rounded out the top five.

Corban's ranking comes as part of a loaded national landscape that features seven CCC programs either ranked or receiving votes in the latest poll. The Warriors will have a two more opportunities throughout the fall to improve their standing while competing against some of the nation's strongest programs.

Corban now turns their attention toward their upcoming race in the heart of Salem as they continue preparations for both the conference and national championship portions of the schedule. With postseason aspirations firmly in sight, Corban will look to build momentum at the 51st Charles Bowles Invite, hosted by NCAA DIII Willamette University at Bush Park.

2026 NAIA Women's Volleyball Preseason Top 25 Poll – No. 1

Rank   Institution [First-Place Votes]                    Points

1.         Cumberlands (Ky.) [17]                               528

2.         Southern Oregon [2]                                    504

3.         Indiana Wesleyan                                        504

4.         The Master's (Calif.)                                    449

5.         College of Idaho                                          457

6.         Saint Mary (Kan.)                                         416

7.         Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)                                    412

8.         Corban (Ore.)                                             403

9.         Marian (Ind.)                                                401

10.       Tennessee Southern                                   398

11.       Milligan (Tenn.)                                            364

12.       Trinity Western (B.C.)                                  319

13.       St. Francis (Ill.)                                            304

14.       Madonna (Mich.)                                          290

15.       Rio Grande (Ohio)                                       284

16.       Rocky Mountain (Mont.)                              267

17.       Taylor (Ind.)                                                 260

18.       Northwest (Wash.)                                       251

19.       Goshen (Ind.)                                               243

20.       Park (Mo.)                                                    211

21.       IU East (Ind.)                                               208

22.       Dordt (Iowa)                                                 197

23.       Cornerstone (Mich.)                                     155

24.       Doane (Neb.)                                               140

25.       Eastern Oregon                                           123

Receiving Votes: Carroll (Mont.) 76, Montreat (N.C.) 65, Spring Arbor (Mich.) 54, Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 43, John Brown (Ark.) 33, Aquinas (Mich.) 30, Columbia (Mo.) 29, Northwestern (Iowa) 20, Saint Francis (Ind.) 17, Evangel (Mo.) 14, Haskell Indian Nations (Kan.) 6, Oregon Tech 5, Concordia (Neb.) 4

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