RUSSELLVILLE, Ark.  -  Fresh off of its first NCAA Division II Playoff appearance since 2015, the Henderson State football team was ranked fourth in the 2024 Great American Conference (GAC) Preseason Poll.

The Reddies, who posted nine wins last season, collected 100 votes from the conference's coaches.

Defending NCAA Division II National Champion Harding checked in at No. 1 in the conference poll with 120 votes and 10 first-place votes. No. 2 Ouachita Baptist (106 votes) and No. 3 Southern Arkansas (100 votes) each collected one of the two remaining first-place votes. No school besides Henderson State, Ouachita Baptist, or Harding has ever claimed a GAC football title, though SAU is looking to claim its first such crown after recording the program's first 10-win season since 1952 last year.

Southeastern Oklahoma State was tabbed fifth with 72 votes, while Arkansas Tech took sixth with 66 votes. No. 7 Oklahoma Baptist (59 votes) and No. 8 Arkansas-Monticello (52 votes) were the only other teams to garner at least 50 votes.

This year marks the fifth consecutive season that Henderson State has been picked as one of the top four teams in the GAC Preseason Poll. Taking over for all-time wins leader Scott Maxfield, head coach Greg Holsworth will look to lead the Reddies to their fourth Great American Conference title. Entering his eighth year overall with HSU, Holsworth previously served as the team's defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. His Reddies hold the No. 22 spot in Lindy's 2024 Preseason DII Football Poll.

Four reigning All-GAC players are returning to HSU for the 2024 season, including First Team members Cayden Davis and Gary Lewis, Second Team member Andrew Edwards, and Honorable Mention Jakob Neel. Lewis earned AFCA Second Team All-American honors and was a Cliff Harris Award finalist a year ago. The Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) named Davis a 2023 Second Team All-Region member. Overall, roughly 70 percent of the Reddies' starters from last season are back in 2024.
 

Henderson State will open this year's campaign with a road matchup against East Central on Thursday, September 5, at 6 p.m. in Ada, Oklahoma. The Reddies' home opener at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium will be against Southeastern Oklahoma State and is slated for 6 p.m. on Saturday, September 14.

 

2024 GAC Preseason Football Poll