Charleston Southern Tabbed 2026 Men's Cross Country Preseason Favorite
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Six-time defending Big South men’s cross country champion Charleston Southern University has been voted the favorite in the conference’s annual preseason poll by the league’s head coaches, the conference office announced Tuesday.
The Buccaneers claimed the top spot in this year’s poll with six first-place votes and 78 points. High Point, last year’s Runner-Up, finished second in the preseason ranking with 75 points and collected the three remaining first-place votes. UNC Asheville placed third in the voting with 61 points, while USC Upstate claimed fourth in the poll with 47 points.
Radford followed in fifth-place with 41 points, with
Winthrop in the sixth position at 37 points.
Longwood landed in the seventh spot (33 points), followed by
Presbyterian College (eighth-place with 18 points) and
Gardner-Webb (ninth, 15 points) to round out the preseason rankings.
The men’s cross country season begins Friday, Sept. 4. The 2026 Big South Men’s Cross Country Championship is slated for Friday, Oct. 30, in Spartanburg, S.C., and will be hosted by USC Upstate.
2026 BIG SOUTH MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON POLL
| Rk - School (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - Charleston Southern (6) |
78 |
| 2 - High Point (3) |
75 |
| 3 - UNC Asheville |
61 |
| 4 - USC Upstate |
47 |
| 5 - Radford |
41 |
| 6 - Winthrop |
37 |
| 7 - Longwood |
33 |
| 8 - Presbyterian College |
18 |
| 9 - Gardner-Webb |
15 |
Note: points are based on a weighted system, with first-place votes receiving 9 points, followed by 8 points for second-place, and so on.