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TSR's 2026 NAIA XC Top 25 Team Rankings (Men): First Edition
Written by Miguel Zacarias & Garrett Zatlin
Edits & additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin
It's the best time of the year!
The trees are barely beginning to turn colors, the cool breeze in the air is hanging around for just a little bit longer than usual and distance athletes are taking to the grass to begin their next season of competition.
In fact, the 2026 collegiate cross country season has already officially started, and a few small rust-busters are already completed. That is why we are opting to make this the "First Edition" of our NAIA top-25 cross country team rankings for this season.
Due to time constraints, we will be employing our "three sentences or less" rule for analysis. And for those wondering, yes, we will be updating this list as the season goes on.
25. Doane Tigers
A team that feels incomplete, but could have a strong presence on the national landscape, is Doane. With half of their national meet lineup returning from last season, it may be a tough climb for the Tigers to improve upon their 20th place finish from 2025. However, at the same time, one could argue that this group was better last fall than what their result at the NAIA XC Championships reflected.
24. Mid-America Christian Evangels
After being a non-factor last fall, the Mid-America Christian made massive headlines in the NAIA community earlier this summer by signing two former Utah Valley runners in Mohamed Guled (13:38 for 5k, 27:58 for 10k) and Abdulsalam Farah (8:40 steeple). The challenge, however, is that Lucky Maila and Jaden Rodriguez, two cross country national meet qualifiers, are no longer listed on a roster that is severely lacking in depth. Put simply, when it comes to MACU, the question should be, just how far can Guled and Farah carry the Evangels this fall?
23. Montreat Cavaliers
The main problem with the Cavaliers last fall was that they simply lacked proper middle-lineup support behind their star low-sticks at the 2025 NAIA XC Championships. They do return low-stick Ryan Stade, but lose All-American Brock Lauer. The Cavaliers are going to have to rely heavily on their latter-half runners who have made enough of an improvement over the last year to (hopefully) make an impact on the grass.
22. UT-Southern Firehawks
The UT-Southern men return a near-All-American in Bruno Villazon, have a 9:49 steeplechaser in Amon Rotich, boast a talented 10k specialist in Frank Kipruto and recruited someone named Spencer Head who looked very promising at the Foothills Invitational. Yes, there is a lot of projecting with this team, but they could do some serious damage this fall if everyone runs up to their full potential.
21. Carroll (MO) Fighting Saints
After losing two crucial veterans in Brycen Gardner and Zack Gacnik, the Fighting Saints can be categorized in a group with a big question mark. They have a decent amount of depth and strong middle-lineup scorers who could keep them afloat, but it’s going to take a well-needed low-stick for them to truly make any moves this season. Yes, men such as Oliver Morris, Conrad Schruth and Jack Jensen offer a promising nucleus, but even their talents may not be enough for a team that seems to be incomplete...for now.
20. Taylor Trojans
As of now, it doesn't seem like the Trojans will have nearly the same kind of impact on the national cross country landscape within the NAIA this fall as they did last year. Getting 5th place on the national stage was monumental for a team that had only six finishers. The challenge, however, is that they are young and only return two men, although that doesn’t mean that we can completely write them off, either.
19. Indiana East Red Wolves
We will admit, the Red Wolves will have a harder time closing or improving upon last year's gap to the top-10 at the NAIA XC Championships (where they placed 12th). Their loss of firepower, including the departure of a top-half All-American, means that there is only so much that Max Kline and Akot Tong can do. That said, Thomas Hogan and a number of other men have proven to be very promising youngsters who seemingly hold exceptionally exciting upside.
18. Rio Grande RedStorm
It was initially hard to be as optimistic about Rio Grande this season as we were last fall given the firepower and support scorers that they lose from last year's lineup. That said, Ryder Crawford and Kasy Science, as well as a few still-rising underclassmen, give this team enough potential to remain in the national conversation. Not only that, but taking down Indiana East and Taylor at the IWU Wildcat Twilight Invite significantly beat our expectations for the RedStorm.
17. Goshen Maple Leafs
One of the Maple Leafs' biggest disadvantages in 2025 was having too many large gaps within their top-seven, and that may be continue with the loss of All-American, Mathew Keitany. Yes, Duncan Kogei was a key piece in Goshen’s 18th place national meet finish from last fall (and that will continue), but the success of this program in 2026 will likely fall on the shoulders of Drew Hogan, Jacob Friesen and Jesse Bontrager. If Goshen is able to tidy-up the backend of their squad, then they may have top-10 potential.
16. Park U. Pirates
After having barely reached the top-25 on the national stage last fall, there is a very high ceiling for the Pirates in 2026. That is because they return a heavy number of names, found great success on the track (albeit, mainly in the middle distance events) and they add a former Iowa State runner in Isaac Rivera (14:18 for 5k) who could be an NAIA star. The Stride Report has been told by one source that Cayden Walker is redshirting this season, but otherwise, nearly every aspect of this team should be better in 2026 compared to 2025.
15. Trinity Western Spartans
After finally making their NAIA XC Championship debut in 2025 with a 9th place finish, the Trinity Western men will be back for another go. They do, however, lose their star runner, Yemane Mulugeta, as well as backend contributor in Brendan O'Brien. The Spartans do return two legitimate stars in David Mutai and Justin Kiplagat, and the team as a whole looked solid in their season opener, but losing an ace like Mulugeta from a top-heavy lineup makes the Spartans a massive "wild card" team in 2026.
14. St. Francis (IL) Fighting Saints
At the moment, the Fighting Saints have a mixed bag of talent with top-60 national meet finisher, Tyler Anderson, only being one piece of the puzzle for this program. It’s possible that they hit big performances throughout the season by developing their supporting cast, but they will have to rely on younger talent to pick up where the veterans left off. That said, Scott Crabb appears to be the only notable loss, meaning that there isn't a ton of damage control that the Fighting Saints need to do outside of replacing him.
13. Rocky Mountain Battlin’ Bears
Rocky Mountain put together an absolutely perfect race-day plan to reach the podium in 2025, but their 2026 squad will be lucky to have a performance anything like that. Yes, All-American ace John Spinti is returning, but it will take more than a great low-stick performance to help the Battlin' Bears return to the podium. That said, Zach Zwiesler and Caleb Tomac were both top-100 national meet finishers who should give this team a very strong scoring presence through three runners.
12. Marian (IN) Knights
The Knights have a solid pack via their top-three returners in Tristan Trevino, Charles Leedke and Benjamin Riehle. That said, Marian’s best shot at overall improvement this year would be to have the rest of their scorers trail as closely as possible to their lead group. The potential for a big postseason run is there for the Knights, but we’ll have to wait and see if Marian can get it right when it matters the most.
11. St. Mary (KS) Spires
The Spires find themselves in a very similar situation to last year as they will enter the season having lost a pair of well-needed low-sticks, although they might be able to salvage something with sophomore, Derebe Carr. Though the rest of the team needed further development in 2025, they were young and have had a full year to further build on their fitness. Don't be surprised if the Spires successfully pair their budding experience with their history of producing better-than-expected lineups.
10. Madonna Crusaders
The Crusaders lost their sole All-American from last fall, but bring back a heavy portion of a national meet lineup that took 11th at the NAIA XC Championships. Not only that, but they add a number of new names to a roster that seemingly hold great upside. And given the encouraging rust-buster that we saw from this team this past weekend, the Madonna men could be due for a big fall campaign in 2026.
9. Corban Warriors
After a 2025 fall campaign that saw such a young team climb the national ranks, Corban has to be a program that eyes will soon be privy too as 2026 rolls along. Veteran Jack Gladfelter is back again to lead a now-experienced squad to what could be a dream season. Yes, Zander Moha is now gone, but the introduction of Georgetown transfer Caleb Lakeman could give this team a crucial scoring spark that more-than-justifies this ranking.
8. Embry-Riddle (AZ) Eagles
The Eagles are in one of the best positions of any team in the NAIA, returning all seven of their men from their 2025 national meet lineup (per their updated TFRRS roster). With All-American Ben Smith leading the way, and tons of depth in terms of possible scoring options, the Embry-Riddle Arizona men are truly poised to be one of the better teams this season. If a 17th place national meet finish from last is the bar to reach, then we are sure that the Eagles will blow that standard out of the water.
7. College of Idaho 'Yotes
This is one of the few teams in the NAIA bringing back a nearly-full squad from last fall, although the loss of Collin De Julio to Cumberlands (KY) does limit the 'Yotes upside. Even so, the one thing that COI has going for them is depth. And given that Isaac Anttonen, Casey Crumley, Everett Metier and Oclan Ryan were all top-140 national meet finishers last fall, there is a good chance that this team holds a high floor for the next few months of racing.
6. Milligan Buffaloes
It could be argued that Milligan is in a perfect spot right now, emerging as "the hunter" rather than "the hunted." A program that is always near the top of the NAIA settled for a slightly disappointing 8th place finish at the 2025 national meet. Even so, the Buffaloes are bringing back a mostly-veteran team that could absolutely develop the firepower that wasn't as prominent as usual last fall.
5. Eastern Oregon Mountaineers
"Potential" is the word that best describes the Mountaineers' varsity group going into this fall. A one-point difference is what left them with a 7th place national meet finish last fall, but a promising pack of returners should assemble a somewhat complete scoring group this fall. Nothing is ever certain, but it seems that Eastern Oregon is coming back with the right amount of experience and talent to be a very real podium threat in 2026.
4. Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats
In what could end up being a surprising showing, the 2025 NAIA reigning cross country team champions are coming back with a less-than ideal team as far as returners are concerned (or lack thereof). With only three of their national meet scorers coming back this season, there are a lot of questions as to what sort of team the Wildcats will be bringing back this season. Even so, history says that this team will develop nationally competitive depth, and their runner-up finisher at the always-competitive IWU Wildcat Twilight Invite was extremely promising.
3. The Master’s Mustangs
Coming off of a runner-up finish at the 2025 NAIA XC Championships, the Mustangs are returning with a vengeance after an 11-point difference kept them from a national title. Although they lost their individual national champion from 2025, The Master’s easily slots back in behind low-stick sophomore Brogan Collins who has the true potential to win it all for the Mustangs. Alongside him is a team of young talent with the experience and pedigree needed to walk away on top this season.
2. Southern Oregon Raiders
With one of the most complete teams in the NAIA, Southern Oregon is bringing back six runners from last year’s national meet, including Mason Weisgerber and Carter Stedman, a duo that provides what may be the best 1-2 punch in the country this fall. Yes, the rise of the Raiders has been slow, and there are legitimate concerns about depth. Even so, this team is poised to be better than they were last fall.
1. Cumberlands (KY) Patriots
After an impressive podium end to their 2025 season, the Patriots take a heavy blow to their team and return zero All-Americans. Sure, that may be concerning, but the additions of Caleb Hershey (via transfer), James Ndayishimiye (via transfer) and Collin De Julio (via transfer), as well as the returns of Luca Madeo, Noah Loser and Ryan Ehrler gives the Cumberlands (KY) men tons of firepower and quality depth. Heck, there is a good chance that there will be lesser-known names on this roster who come out of nowhere this fall!
