ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - Chico State once again sits atop the CCAA Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll as the Wildcats begin their pursuit of a 24th consecutive conference championship.
 
Chico State received all 11 first-place votes and a perfect 121 points to earn the top spot in the 2026 poll. Cal Poly Pomona followed in second with 108 points, while Cal State San Marcos moved up one spot from last year's preseason rankings to third with 90 points. 

2026 Men's Cross Country Coaches Poll
Men's Cross Country	Points
Chico State (11)	121
Cal Poly Pomona	108
Cal State San Marcos	90
Stanislaus State	82
Fresno Pacific	78
Cal Poly Humboldt	66
Cal State East Bay	50
Cal State Monterey Bay	44
San Francisco State	35
UC Merced	34
Cal State LA	18
First-place votes in parentheses

Stanislaus State was selected fourth with 82 points, followed closely by new CCAA member Fresno Pacific with 78. Cal Poly Humboldt (66) was sixth, and Cal State East Bay (50) placed seventh. Cal State Monterey Bay was selected eighth with 44 points, followed by San Francisco State (35), UC Merced (34) and Cal State LA (18).
 
Chico State has won every contested CCAA Men's Cross Country Championship since 2002, but the Wildcats were pushed to the finish in 2025. Chico State edged Cal Poly Pomona by just six points, 30-36, in the closest CCAA Championship during the Wildcats' 23-year run and the closest conference men's race in 34 years. The six-point margin was also just the third single-digit finish in the 59-year history of the championship.
 
The Wildcats carried the momentum into the postseason and captured their ninth consecutive NCAA West Region Championship. Chico State finished with 75 points to hold off Western Washington and Cal Poly Pomona before closing the season with a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
 
Cal Poly Pomona was again picked second after coming closer than any program in more than three decades to knocking Chico State off the top of the CCAA podium. The Broncos placed five runners among the top 12 at the 2025 CCAA Championships and finished second for the fifth consecutive season. CPP followed that performance by placing third at the NCAA West Regional to secure its third straight trip to the NCAA Championships. The Broncos finished 18th nationally, their best NCAA finish since 2019.
 
Cal State San Marcos moved into the No. 3 spot after producing its best CCAA Championship finish since 2019. The Cougars placed third with 73 points and had two runners among the top 10. CSUSM continued its strong postseason with a top-6 finish at the NCAA West Regional, its best regional performance since 2021.
 
Stanislaus State was voted fourth after placing fourth at the 2025 CCAA Championships. The Warriors went on to finish 13th at the NCAA West Regional and have now been voted among the conference's top four teams in each of the past three preseason polls.
 
Fresno Pacific will enter its first CCAA season already expected to contend near the front of the conference field. The Sunbirds were selected fifth after finishing as the runner-up at the 2025 PacWest Championships with 53 points. Fresno Pacific then placed 14th at the NCAA West Regional. The Sunbirds officially joined the CCAA on July 1 and became the conference's 11th men's cross country program.
 
Cal Poly Humboldt was picked sixth after placing fifth at last year's CCAA Championships and advancing to the NCAA West Regional. Cal State East Bay followed in seventh after also competing at the regional, where the Pioneers finished 16th.
 
Cal State Monterey Bay was selected eighth, while only one point separated San Francisco State and UC Merced for ninth and 10th. UC Merced enters its second season competing in CCAA men's cross country. Cal State LA completed the poll in 11th.
 
The 2026 cross country season begins in September as teams work toward the CCAA Championships presented by Pollo Campero on Saturday, Nov. 7. The conference meet returns to the Cal State San Bernardino campus for the first time since 2018 and will be contested on the CSUSB Cross Country Course.