LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. – Cal Lutheran football has been picked to finish second in the 2026 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) preseason coaches poll, earning 52 points.
The Kingsmen trail defending SCIAC champion Chapman, which received all eight first-place votes and 64 points. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps follows Cal Lutheran in third with 46 points, while Pomona-Pitzer (42), Redlands (38), La Verne (26), Azusa Pacific (16) and Whittier (9) round out the poll.
Cal Lutheran enters the 2026 season looking to build on a breakthrough 2025 campaign that saw the Kingsmen finish 6-4 overall and 4-4 in SCIAC play. Cal Lutheran captured the conference's Sun Division championship and advanced to the SCIAC Championship Game against Surf Division champion Chapman, ultimately finishing as the conference runner-up. The second-place finish was the Kingsmen's best in the SCIAC since winning four consecutive conference championships from 2009-12.
The Kingsmen return a strong core from last year's championship-game squad, including starting quarterback
Joe Farley, wide receiver
Tyler Woodworth, return specialist and receiver
TeNorris Merkel, linebackers
Drew Nees and
Logan Bowers, safety
Charles Cravings and kicker
Matthew Montegna.
Cal Lutheran led the SCIAC with 16 All-Conference selections in 2025, including a conference-best 11 first-team honorees.
Farley returns for his junior season after earning First Team All-SCIAC honors in his first full season as the Kingsmen's starting quarterback. He threw for 1,759 yards and nine touchdowns in 2025, while Woodworth and Merkel combined for 1,191 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Both pass catchers earned All-SCIAC recognition, with Woodworth earning first-team honors and Merkel landing on the second team as a receiver.
The Kingsmen also bring back their top two tacklers from a season ago in Nees and Bowers. Nees turned in one of the SCIAC's most productive defensive seasons, recording 68 tackles, 14.0 tackles-for-loss and a conference-best 8.5 sacks while tying for the conference lead with four interceptions. Bowers added 65 tackles, seven tackles-for-loss and four sacks.
Merkel returns as one of the conference's top special teams threats after earning First Team All-SCIAC honors as a return specialist in 2025. He ranked second in the SCIAC with a 26.8-yard kick return average and was the conference's only player to return a kickoff for a touchdown. Montegna also returns after earning First Team All-SCIAC honors as a freshman, leading the conference with 10 made field goals.
Chapman enters the season as the unanimous preseason favorite after defeating Cal Lutheran 27-17 in last year's SCIAC Championship Game and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship. The Cougars will look to defend their title while retooling following the departure of 2025 SCIAC Offensive and Defensive Athletes of the Year Tyler Pacheco and Tate Zimmerman.
The 2026 season also marks the return of Whittier football to the SCIAC after a four-year hiatus and the addition of Azusa Pacific, which is entering its first season competing at the NCAA Division III level.
Cal Lutheran opens the 2026 season at Pacific Lutheran University on Sunday, September 6 in Tacoma, Washington. The Kingsmen return to William Rolland Stadium for their home opener against the University of Puget Sound on Saturday, September 19.
