ATLANTA, Ga. (August 24, 2023) – For the third consecutive season, Trinity was voted No. 1 in the Southern Athletic Association football preseason poll. The Tigers have won each of the last two SAA titles and rides a 21-game conference winning streak into 2023.
Trinity earned 63 points and topped seven ballots in the voting conducted among the SAA’s nine head coaches. Berry came in at No. 2 with 57 points and two first place votes while Centre checked-in at No. 3 with 47 points.
2023 SAA Football Preseason Poll
1. Trinity - 63 pts (7)
2. Berry - 57 pts (2)
3. Centre - 47 pts
T4. Birmingham-Southern - 37 pts
T4. Rhodes - 37 pts
6. Hendrix - 30 pts
7. Southwestern - 28 pts
8. Millsaps - 14 pts
9. Sewanee - 11 pts.
The poll was conducted among the conference’s nine head coaches.
Ranked No. 4 in the D3football.com preseason national poll, Trinity boasts three preseason All-America selections in linebacker Caleb Harmel, returner BJ Stewart, and quarterback Tucker Horn. Harmel was a first team All-America selection last season while Stewart earned SAA Special Teams Player of the Year honors and Horn repeated as conference Offensive Player of the Year. In all, Trinity is bringing back eight SAA first or second teamers from its 2022 championship team that went 11-1 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Playoffs.
Berry won five of its last six to close 2022 with the lone loss during the stretch a seven-point setback to Trinity. The Vikings are looking to build on its 7-2 overall and 5-2 in SAA record from last season. Preseason All-American Tonny Garcia and reigning SAA Newcomer of the Year Bryce Herring headline seven returners named first or second team all-conference a year ago.
Birmingham-Southern will face McMurry in Little Rock while Millsaps battles Belhaven in the battle of Jackson on the first night of the season, Thursday, August 31. Two days later, Trinity visits Saint John’s, Rhodes plays at Westminster and Southwestern travels to California Lutheran while Hendrix, Sewanee, Berry and Centre all host their season openers.