ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The South Atlantic Conference announced its preseason coaches polls and Athletes to Watch for the 2026 outdoor track and field season on Friday.

The Tusculum women were picked third in the preseason poll while the Pioneer men were picked to finish ninth out of 12 teams. The Pioneers are coming off a second-place women's finish and eighth-place men's showing at the SAC Indoor Track and Field Championship. Tusculum received a first-place vote in the women's poll, the only team other than Wingate to earn a spot atop the rankings.

Preseason Athletes to Watch for the Tusculum women are the quartet of All-America sprinters: seniors Jahzara Hart and Shanice Cox along with sophomores Kori Moore and Qitarah Castlin. Recognized for the Tusculum men are junior sprinter Chazz Alexander, sophomore sprinter Tinotenda Musariri, sophomore hurdler John Ross, and junior multi-event athlete Nour Nabi.

Hart (Raleigh, N.C.) was All-America in the 100 meters last season with a third-place finish, and was part of the fourth-place 4x100 relay at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championship. Hart was second in both the 100 meters and 200 meters at the SAC Championship last spring, and swept the 60 and 200 meters at this year's SAC Indoor Championship en route to fifth-place finishes in both events at the NCAA Indoor Championship.

Cox (Minneapolis, Minn.) was also part of last year's All-America 4x100 relay and was third in both the 100 and 200 meters at last spring's SAC Outdoor Championship. She was second in the 200 meters at the SAC Indoor Championship and ran in the winning 4x400 relay, and placed 13th in the 200 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championship.

Moore (Jonesboro, Ga.) earned SAC Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet after winning the 60 hurdles and 4x400 relay, and took third place in the 60 meters and fifth in the 200 meters. She was second-team All-America in the 60 hurdles this winter, and was second in the 100 hurdles at last spring's SAC Outdoor Championship along with a fifth-place showing in the 200 meters.

Castlin (Griffin, Ga.) was second-team All-America in the 200 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championship and took second in the 60 meters and third in the 200 meters at the SAC Indoor Championship, along with a leg of the winning 4x400 relay. She placed fourth in the 100 meters and sixth in the 200 meters at the SAC Outdoor Championship last season.

Alexander (Palo Seco, Trinidad and Tobago) placed sixth in the 400 meters at the SAC Indoor Championship and was an NJCAA national qualifier in the 4x100, 4x400 and 400 meters last season. Musariri (Harare, Zimbabwe) took third in the 200 meters and fifth in the 100 meters in conference championships last spring, while Ross (Mount Carmel, Tenn.) was 16th in the 400 hurdles at the SAC Outdoor Championship as a freshman. Nabi (Woodbridge, Va.) placed eighth in the decathlon last season at the SAC Championship while at Emory & Henry, and had a sixth-place showing in the heptathlon at the SAC Indoor meet.

Wingate was picked as the preseason favorite in both men's and women's outdoor track and field after sweeping the indoor championship. Catawba, Carson-Newman, Lenoir-Rhyne and Anderson were in the top five in the men's poll, with Catawba, Tusculum, Lenoir-Rhyne and Anderson following in the women's rankings.

The South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship will be held Wednesday-Thursday, April 29-30 at Emory & Henry University.

2026 SAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Preseason Poll

2026 SAC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Preseason Poll