Henderson State is the overwhelming pick by the league's coaches to win the Great American Conference football title released by the league office Thursday.      

HSU claimed the poll's top spot by receiving 10-of-12 first place votes from the league's head coaches. That was enough to give the Reddies 120 points in the poll, 20 more than second place Harding which received one first-place vote.

Ouachita Baptist came in third in the preseason poll with 91 points, followed by Southwestern Oklahoma (88), Southern Arkansas (82), and Arkansas Tech (79).

East Central also received a first-place vote, with the Tigers picked to finish seventh overall with 65 points, while Southeastern Oklahoma came in eighth with 63 points, and Northwestern Oklahoma ninth with 33 points.

Rounding out the poll were Oklahoma Baptist (32), Arkansas-Monticello (28) and Southern Nazarene (11).  

Henderson claimed its third GAC title in the past four seasons in 2015 finishing with a 10-1 record in league play and an 11-2 record overall winning its first playoff game in school history with a 23-16 win over Sioux Falls.

The Reddies return seven all-conference selections and 17 starters including GAC Offensive Player of the Year Jaquan Cole.

Cole enters the season with 1788 career yards, 10th all-time at HSU. A second-team All-Region pick, Cole totaled 1189 yards rushing, averaging 99.1 yards per game while scoring eight touchdowns. The senior from Cedar Hill, Texas rushed for a HSU record 245 yards on 27 carries against Arkansas Tech.

Also returning is All-American linebacker Josh Davis. The senior from El Dorado, Ark. has earned First-Team All-GAC honors the past two seasons. Davis finished 2015 with a team-best 103 tackles and 15 tackles for lost yardage.

Reddie players report to campus on August 10, with the first practice set for the following morning.

The 2016 season begins September 1 when Southeastern Oklahoma visits Carpenter-Haygood Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.