FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Glenville State Football team is picked to finish 6
th in the Mountain East Conference following a vote of the league's nine head coaches, the conference announced today.
The Pioneers, who are under the direction of first-year head coach
Jake Casteel, were tabbed sixth in the MEC Preseason Poll with 32 total points. MEC Co-Champions from a year ago, Frostburg State (64 points, eight first-place votes) and Charleston (57 points, one first-place vote) were selected to sit atop the league once again. Fairmont State (41 points), West Virginia State (39 points) and Wheeling (36 points) are voted to finish ahead of the Pioneers while Concord and West Liberty were tied for 7
th with 22 points and West Virginia Wesleyan slid in at No. 9 with 11 total points.
Coach Casteel brought in nearly 80 newcomers but does return a bulk of the offensive line that propelled the Pioneers to being one of the top offenses in the league. He also retained key pieces like junior defensive back
Braden Boggs, junior linebacker
Anthony Bachinski, sophomore cornerback
Kaevon Blanding, sophomore defensive lineman
Maddox Gillespie, sophomore linebacker
Donovan Williams and redshirt senior running back
Zavione Wood.
Glenville State kicks off the 2026 campaign at Elon on Thursday, August 27
th, at 7 p.m. inside Rhodes Stadium. GSU's first game inside the brand-new Ike & Sue Morris Stadium will be the following Thursday (Aug. 3) against Millersville at 6 p.m.
| 2026 MEC Football Preseason Poll |
| Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Voting |
| 1. |
Frostburg State (8) |
64 |
| 2. |
Charleston (1) |
57 |
| 3. |
Fairmont State |
41 |
| 4. |
West Virginia State |
39 |
| 5. |
Wheeling |
36 |
| 6. |
Glenville State |
32 |
| T-7. |
Concord |
22 |
| T-7. |
West Liberty |
22 |
| 9. |
West Virginia Wesleyan |
11 |
*
Coaches were not permitted to vote for own team
Coach Casteel's MEC Media Day interview will air next Friday (Aug. 21) on the Mountain East Conference's social media pages as well as their YouTube page.
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