RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Great American Conference has announced the 2026 Preseason Coaches Poll for Men's Track & Field. Amongst the seven groups for the GAC, Southern Arkansas' Men rank third after receiving 24 points in the voting. 

The Muleriders are one of two Natural State schools to make up the top three. Immediately ahead of Southern Arkansas in the poll sits Oklahoma Baptist, as the Bison received 32 points and two first-place votes. At the top of the standings, the defending GAC Champions, Harding, rank first with 35 points and five first-place votes. 

The group has already competed in three outdoor meets this season, and the group has seen success all around, especially from senior Keith Smith and freshman Tiquan Box. Smith comes off a First Team All-American performance at the NCAA DII Indoor Track & Field National Championships, as Smith recorded a leap of 15.36m (50' 4.75") to place sixth in the triple jump. Last weekend, the Jefferson, Texas local outclassed all of his competition with a mark of 15.69m (51' 5.75"), which breaks the triple jump program record and ranks second in NCAA DII. For Box, the freshman out of Prescott, Arkansas acquired a weekly honor after being named a GAC Men's Track Athlete of the Week. To earn the award, Box recorded a time of 15.19 in the 110m hurdles at the Ouachita Baptist Invitational two weeks ago. 

Remaining on the schedule for Southern Arkansas, a select few will make a trip to Austin, Texas for the Texas Relays (Apr. 2-4), while the remainder of the team will head to Nacogdoches, Texas for the Carl Kight Invitational & Multis (Apr. 2-3). The Muleriders will then head to Searcy, Arkansas for the Chick-fil-A Bryan Phillips Open (Apr. 9-11). To finish the regular season, the Blue and Gold stay at home for the Dan Veach Invitational (Apr. 18). The Great American Conference Championships will be set to follow, as SAU will make its third trip to Searcy to compete for individual championships and a team championship (Apr. 29-May 1).