Skyhawks Check In At No. 9 In Preseason NCEA Coaches Poll
9/16/2025 3:00:00 PM | Equestrian
WACO, Texas – The National Collegiate Equestrian Association revealed its preseason coaches poll today and the University of Tennessee at Martin was ranked No. 9, marking the 43rd straight appearance in the national top-10 for the Skyhawk program.
Reigning national champion Georgia came in at No. 1 and was followed by No. 2 SMU, No. 3 Auburn, No. 4 South Carolina, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 6 Oklahoma State, No. 7 TCU, No. 8 Baylor, No. 9 UT Martin and No. 10 Fresno State.
New for the 2025-26 campaign is a NCEA coaches poll, which started with today's unveiling of the preseason rankings. The coaches poll will run through the fall slate of competition on a weekly basis with the final edition coming out on Nov. 25. Beginning on Feb. 10, the NCEA Selection Committee will take over the rankings on a weekly basis through the final regular season rankings, which will be announced on March 17.
The Skyhawks are coming off a record-setting season, winning their first-ever Eastern College Athletic Conference championship (first league title since 2012-13) to earn UT Martin an at-large berth into the eight-team field at the NCEA Championships. The Skyhawks equaled the most wins in school history (eight) and came in at No. 8 in the final NCEA poll, which was the highest end-of-season ranking in program history.
Four-time ECAC Coach of the Year Kim Leiter-Janes is set to return 24 riders from last season (including five key starters) and welcomes in 13 newcomers in 2025-26.
UT Martin will hold a Blue and Orange Scrimmage on Friday, Sept. 26 (horsemanship/flat) and Saturday, Sept. 27 (fences/reining) before officially opening the 2025-26 season in Brookings, SD on Oct. 3-4 against South Dakota State and Minnesota-Crookston.
Reigning national champion Georgia came in at No. 1 and was followed by No. 2 SMU, No. 3 Auburn, No. 4 South Carolina, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 6 Oklahoma State, No. 7 TCU, No. 8 Baylor, No. 9 UT Martin and No. 10 Fresno State.
New for the 2025-26 campaign is a NCEA coaches poll, which started with today's unveiling of the preseason rankings. The coaches poll will run through the fall slate of competition on a weekly basis with the final edition coming out on Nov. 25. Beginning on Feb. 10, the NCEA Selection Committee will take over the rankings on a weekly basis through the final regular season rankings, which will be announced on March 17.
The Skyhawks are coming off a record-setting season, winning their first-ever Eastern College Athletic Conference championship (first league title since 2012-13) to earn UT Martin an at-large berth into the eight-team field at the NCEA Championships. The Skyhawks equaled the most wins in school history (eight) and came in at No. 8 in the final NCEA poll, which was the highest end-of-season ranking in program history.
Four-time ECAC Coach of the Year Kim Leiter-Janes is set to return 24 riders from last season (including five key starters) and welcomes in 13 newcomers in 2025-26.
UT Martin will hold a Blue and Orange Scrimmage on Friday, Sept. 26 (horsemanship/flat) and Saturday, Sept. 27 (fences/reining) before officially opening the 2025-26 season in Brookings, SD on Oct. 3-4 against South Dakota State and Minnesota-Crookston.
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