The Ouachita Baptist University football team was voted No. 2 in the 2026 Great American Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll released on Tuesday, July 21. The Henderson State Reddies are projected to finish fourth, behind Harding, Ouachita Baptist and Southern Arkansas universities.
The Tigers are coming off a 7-4 record in 2025 for the program’s 17th consecutive winning season, which is the longest active streak among all college football programs in Arkansas. Under the leadership of 28th-year head coach Todd Knight, who became the state’s all-time winningest college football coach last season, Ouachita enters the 2026 season with a core group of returners on both sides of the ball, including senior receiver and return specialist Carter McElhany and junior linebacker Justin Crutchmer, both All-GAC First Team performers in 2025.
Other all-conference returners for the Tigers include senior receiver Bo Baker, sophomore quarterback Tre Nichols, senior running back Chris Henley Jr., senior defensive end Joey Ortego, sophomore defensive tackle Gabe Williams, sophomore linebacker Kahlil Smith, and junior long snapper Braden Reed. Also back after missing the 2025 season with injury is sophomore offensive lineman Isaiah Simpson, who was the GAC Freshman of the Year in 2024. Among the newcomers expected to make an impact for the 2026 squad include sophomore receiver AJ Jayroe, who has played at two different NCAA Division I schools; offensive lineman Wyatt Payne, a transfer from UTPB; sophomore offensive lineman Vinny Winters, a transfer from UCA out of Malvern; graduate safety Kris Robinson, a transfer from ULM; and graduate safety Dante Thomas, who played a significant role at Coastal Carolina last season.
The Reddies finished 8-3 in 2025, punctuated by a 41-14 win against the Tigers in the 98th Battle of the Ravine. Coach Greg Holsworth‘s squad returns 10 starters from last year’s team and will be led offensively by quarterback Austin Ledbetter. The signal caller will be surrounded by weapons, including receivers Taylin Paskel and Maddox Davis, as well as an experienced offensive line that returns four starters, including All-GAC center Gabe Hernandez.
The Reddie defense looks to build on its 2025 performance, a year in which it ranked second in the conference in scoring defense. Returning safeties Lanard Harris and Bryant Hammond II look to bolster a unit that boasted 17 takeaways last season.
Ouachita opens the 2026 season on Thursday, Sept. 3, at home against East Central for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Kluck-Benson Field at Cliff Harris Stadium. General admission tickets can be purchased at www.OBUtigers.com/FootballTickets.
Henderson State opens its 2026 slate on Thursday, September 3rd in Bethany, Oklahoma against Southern Nazarene. The Reddies’ home opener will be Saturday, September 12th against Oklahoma Baptist. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. The full HSU football schedule can be found here.
2026 GAC Football Preseason Coaches’ Poll
- Harding, 121, 11 first-place votes
- Ouachita, 103, 1 first-place vote
- Southern Arkansas, 99
- Henderson State, 95
- Arkansas Tech, 78
- East Central, 68
- Southwestern Oklahoma State, 67
- Southeastern Oklahoma State, 53
- Arkansas-Monticello, 38
- Oklahoma Baptist, 30
- Southern Nazarene, 24
- Northwestern Oklahoma State, 16
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