By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
After winning an unprecedented third-straight Commissioner's Cup and holding their spot as the winningest program in the KCAC, the Kansas Wesleyan athletics department is ready to kick things into high gear again this fall.
On Friday, KCAC polls were unveiled for men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, and cross country.
Both cross country teams found themselves ranked on a national stage, with the women ranked 13th in the NAIA, and the men not far behind ranked 23rd.
On the pitch, both soccer teams were projected to finish third in the preseason polls, while on the court volleyball was selected fifth.
Below you can read more about each of these programs and their selection.
Women's Cross Country
Taylor (Ind.) is the top-rated team in NAIA Women's Cross Country to begin the 2025 season, returning the NAIA's individual national champion to help claim the top spot in the 2025 NAIA Women's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Top 25.
The preseason Top 25 is the first step in a march toward Tallahassee, Fla., where the season culminates with the 70th-Annual NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship, at Apalachee Regional Park on Nov. 21.
Kansas Wesleyan is ranked No. 13 in the preseason poll, equaling the team's highest rating last season. KWU finished 14th at last year's NAIA National Championships headlined by a Top 50 finish by senior Madisyn Ehrlich.
KWU opens its cross country season on September 6, running in the JK Gold Classic, hosted by Wichita State University in Wichita.
Men's Cross Country
The Master's (Calif.), which enters the year atop the 2025 NAIA Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Top 25.
The preseason Top 25 is the first step in a march toward Tallahassee, Fla., where the season culminates with the 70th Annual NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship, at Apalachee Regional Park on Nov. 21.
Kansas Wesleyan was ranked No. 23 in the poll, which nearly mirrored the team's finish from a year ago at the NAIA National Championships, where the Coyotes finished 22nd as a team.
The Coyotes return a large portion of last year's team that was second in the KCAC and earned the NAIA Nationals bid for a second straight season.
KWU opens its cross country season on September 6, running in the JK Gold Classic, hosted by Wichita State University in Wichita.
Women's Soccer
Kansas Wesleyan Women's Soccer was picked to finish third in the KCAC in 2025 as the results of the Preseason Coaches Poll were announced by the conference office. The preseason coaches poll is conducted by the conference coaches.
KWU was just two points behind Friends for second place in the voting. Friends had 149 points and KWU had 147 points. The top three, led by Oklahoma Wesleyan, were well ahead of the rest of the field in the polling.
Oklahoma Wesleyan, who was ranked No. 16 in the NAIA Women's Soccer Preseason Poll, was the conference favorite with 168 points and 12 first place votes. Friends was second with 149 and two first place votes. KWU was third with 147, Avila was fourth with 128, York was fifth with 120, Saint Mary was sixth with 106, Evangel was seventh with 97, Tabor was eighth with 78, Ottawa was ninth with 76, Southwestern was 10th with 73, Bethel was 11th with 49, McPherson was 12th with 41, Sterling was 13th with 29 and Bethany was 14th with 13.
The conference poll is calculated on a vote by conference coaches. Each coach ranks teams in predicted order of finish, but cannot vote include their own team in the poll. Teams are assigned point values based on the order of finish in the poll, with first place receiving 13 points, second place 12, and continuing down the poll.
Kansas Wesleyan opens the 2025 season on Saturday, heading to Hastings, Nebraska to take on the Hastings Broncos at 5:30 p.m.
Saturday's game will be streamed live on the Hastings streaming channel, part of the GPAC Network (www.gpacnetwork.com/hastingsbroncos). Streaming and live stats links are available at www.kwucoyotes.com.
Men's Soccer
Kansas Wesleyan Men's Soccer was picked to finish third in the KCAC in 2025 as the conference announced the 2025 KCAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll, as selected by the conference coaches.
The Coyotes were a narrow third place pick just behind Ottawa University. Ottawa received 151 points and one first place vote while the Coyotes received 148 points.Oklahoma Wesleyan was the preseason favorite, as the Eagles were also ranked No. 5 in the NAIA Preseason Coaches Poll.
The conference poll is calculated on a vote by conference coaches. Each coach ranks teams in predicted order of finish, but cannot vote include their own team in the poll. Teams are assigned point values based on the order of finish in the poll, with first place receiving 13 points, second place 12, and continuing down the poll.
Oklahoma Wesleyan was the unanimous pick in the poll with 169 points and 13 first place votes. Ottawa was second with 151 points and the other first place vote. KWU was third with 148, Friends was fourth with 130, Saint Mary was fifth with 116, Bethel was sixth with 105, Southwestern was seventh with 89, York was eighth with 78, McPherson was ninth with 77, Tabor was 10th with 70, Evangel was 11th with 52, Sterling was 12th with 44, Avila was 13th with 28 and Bethany was 14th with 17 points.KWU opens its season, the first under new coach Ryan Palmbaum on Saturday, hosting Central Christian College of the Bible from Moberly, Missouri, at 11 a.m. at JRI Hospitality Stadium at Graves Family Sports Complex.
Saturday's game will be streamed live on the KCAC Network (www.kcacnetwork.com/kansaswesleyan) and on the Urban Edge Network (https://urbanedgenetwork.net/?school=kansas-collegiate-athletic-conference)
Women's Volleyball
WICHITA, Kan. - Kansas Wesleyan Women's Volleyball was selected to finish fifth in the conference in 2025 after a vote by the conference coaches in the KCAC Preseason Coaches Poll released by the conference office.
KWU earned the fifth spot in the poll scoring 119 points behind Bethel in fourth with 132 and ahead of Saint Mary in sixth with 105.
Defending conference champion Oklahoma Wesleyan, who is ranked No. 13 in the NAIA Preseason Poll was the conference favorite just edging out McPherson for the top spot. OKWU earned 164 points and eight first place votes, while McPherson, who was tied for 11th in the NAIA Poll, was picked second with 162 points and six first place votes.
Evangel was third with 143, Bethel fourth with 132, KWU fifth, Saint Mary sixth with 105, Ottawa seventh with 101, Sterling was eighth with 61, Friends, Tabor and York all tied for ninth with 56 points, Southwestern was 12th with 53, and Avila and Bethany tied for 13th with 33.
The conference poll is calculated on a vote by conference coaches. Each coach ranks teams in predicted order of finish, but cannot vote include their own team in the poll. Teams are assigned point values based on the order of finish in the poll, with first place receiving 13 points, second place 12, and continuing down the poll.
KWU will open its season on Saturday playing in the Hastings College Classic. The Coyotes play College of Saint Mary (Neb.) at Noon, and Hastings College at 5:30 p.m. KWU does not play at home until September 20 against Benedictine.
Saturday's games will be streamed live on the Hastings streaming channel, part of the GPAC Network (www.gpacnetwork.com/hastingsbroncos). Streaming and live stats links are available at www.kwucoyotes.com.