Bucs 5th In Opening Poll of 2026
The Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers will start the 2026 regular season ranked #5 as announced in the NJCAA’s opening poll release of the year on Monday.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.- The Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers will start the 2026 regular season ranked #5 as announced in the NJCAA's opening poll release of the year on Monday.
The Bucs are 15-3 to start the year, claiming five wins over teams ranked in the first poll of the regular season. The Bucs swept #22 Southern Idaho and picked up a win over #19 Salt Lake in the Paradise Cove Classic before picking up solo wins over D2 #3 St. Johns River and #18 Daytona State in their conference opener Friday.
Three of the top five teams in the poll hail from the Sunshine State with Northwest Florida at #1, Indian River at #3, and FSW at #5. Grayson and Northeast Alabama sandwiched themselves inside at #2 and #4 respectively. The Top 25 was loaded with FCSAA squads as along with Northwest, Indian River, and FSW, five other teams found themselves in the opening rankings of the regular season. Santa Fe joined the trio in the Top 10 at #8, Seminole State and Eastern Florida checked in back to back at #11 and #12, Daytona State was #18, and Gulf Coast State was #20.
The Bucs are back in action on Tuesday at home at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers when they host Miami Dade, who was receiving votes in the opening poll, in a doubleheader beginning at 1 PM.