High Point Tops Annual Preseason Men's Outdoor Track & Field Poll
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Five-time defending Big South Champion
High Point University has been voted the favorite in the annual Big South Conference Men’s Outdoor Track & Field preseason poll by the league’s head coaches, the conference office announced Thursday afternoon. The Panthers were a near unanimous selection to repeat as champion this season with seven of the eight first-place votes and 63 of the possible 64 points.
Charleston Southern finished second in the polling with 54 points, as the Bucs received the remaining first-place vote.
USC Upstate claimed third with 51 points, while
UNC Asheville was fourth in the voting with 40 points.
Gardner-Webb was fifth in the preseason standings with 30 points, followed by
Winthrop in sixth (26 points) and
Longwood in seventh (14 points).
Radford, which reinstated its men’s track & field program last May and is competing for the first time since 2014, received 10 points for the eighth and final slot in the balloting.
The 2026 men’s outdoor track & field season begins this weekend, March 13-15, and concludes with the 2026 Big South Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship, May 11-13 at Vert Stadium on the campus of High Point University in High Point, N.C.
2026 BIG SOUTH MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD PRESEASON POLL
| Rk - School (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - High Point (7) |
63 |
| 2 - Charleston Southern (1) |
54 |
| 3 - USC Upstate |
51 |
| 4 - UNC Asheville |
40 |
| 5 - Gardner-Webb |
30 |
| 6 - Winthrop |
26 |
| 7 - Longwood |
14 |
| 8 - Radford |
10 |
Note: points are based on a weighted system. First-place votes received 8 points, followed by 7 points for second-place, and so on.