The preseason NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll has been announced and the Dordt Defenders are no.8 in the poll.
The Defenders earned a share of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Championship last season and advanced to the second round of the NAIA National Championship Playoffs. The Defenders posted a 10-1 record last season and will open the season on Friday, August 28 against no.9 Indiana Wesleyan in Marion, Indiana.
Dordt is one of three GPAC teams in the top-25 with Morningside at no. 7 and Northwestern is no. 24. Concordia is in the receiving votes portion of the poll.
Dordt opens GPAC play on Saturday, September 5 at home against Hastings and will play a 10-game conference schedule, ending with a November 14 game at Northwestern in Orange City, Iowa.
The preseason poll is the first of seven coaches’ polls in 2026, followed by three national selection committee polls, a final ARC rating Nov. 15, and a postseason poll Jan. 4. The 2026 NAIA football season culminates with the NAIA National Championship Game in Fort Worth, Texas, Dec. 19 at Crowley ISD Multipurpose Stadium.
| RANK | INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | 2025 RECORD |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand View (Iowa) [13] | 14-0 |
| 2 | Keiser (Fla.) | 12-1 |
| 3 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 12-2 |
| 4 | College of Idaho | 11-2 |
| 5 | Montana Tech | 12-1 |
| 6 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 10-2 |
| 7 | Morningside (Iowa) | 9-3 |
| 8 | Dordt (Iowa) | 10-1 |
| T-9 | Friends (Kan.) | 12-1 |
| T-9 | Indiana Wesleyan | 9-3 |
| 11 | Carroll (Mont.) | 9-3 |
| 12 | Marian (Ind.) | 8-4 |
| 13 | William Penn (Iowa) | 11-2 |
| 14 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 8-3 |
| 15 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 9-3 |
| 16 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 7-4 |
| 17 | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 10-3 |
| 18 | Montana Western | 7-3 |
| 19 | Evangel (Mo.) | 9-3 |
| 20 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 7-3 |
| 21 | McPherson (Kan.) | 9-2 |
| 22 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 8-3 |
| 23 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 7-4 |
| 24 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 6-4 |
| 25 | Dakota State (S.D.) | 8-2 |
Receiving Votes: Baker (Kan.), Bethel (Tenn.), Concordia (Neb.), Cumberland (Tenn.), Dickinson State (N.D.), Kansas Wesleyan, Louisiana Christian, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), OUAZ (Ariz.), Pikeville (Ky.), Saint Xavier (Ill.), St. Francis (Ill.), Taylor (Ind.), Texas Wesleyan.
