CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Five-time defending Big South Champion High Point University has been voted the favorite in the annual Big South Conference Men's & Women'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 for both squads.

In the men's poll, Charleston Southern finished second 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.
 
In the women's poll, Charleston Southern was second to High Point with 57 points, as the Bucs received the remaining first-place vote. Radford landed in the third position with 48 points, and Gardner-Webb claimed fourth with 38 points. UNC Asheville finished fifth in the polling with 33 points, followed by USC Upstate in sixth (22 points) and Winthrop in seventh (18 points). Longwood received the eighth and final spot (nine points).

The 2026 men's and women's outdoor track & field season begins this weekend, March 13, 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.
 
2026 BIG SOUTH WOMEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD PRESEASON POLL
 

Rk - School (first-place votes)	Points
1 - High Point (7)	63
2 - Charleston Southern (1)	57
3 - Radford	48
4 - Gardner-Webb	38
5 - UNC Asheville	33
6 - USC Upstate	22
7 - Winthrop	18
8 - Longwood	9

Note: points are based on a weighted system.  First-place votes received 8 points, followed by 7 points for second-place, and so on.