Preseason Top 25 Ranking for Emporia State Football

The preseason accolades are beginning to come in for the Emporia State football team. The Hornets are ranked No. 17 and have a preseason All-American in the Lindy’s Sports Magazine Division II Preseason Preview.

Coming off a 9-3 season and a Live United Bowl Championship, Emporia State is making its first appearance in the Lindy’s preseason national rankings since 2017. It was the seventh trip to the postseason in the last ten seasons for the Hornets. They return 45 letter winners including seven starters on offense, six starters on defense and both kickers return.

One of those kickers is punter Ross Brungardt who was named second-team Preseason All-American by the magazine. A First-Team All-MIAA, Academic All-District and honorable mention Football Gazette All-American selection as a junior he averaged 43.0 yards per punt last season. He had ten punts of over 50 yards and a league-high 22 placed inside the 20-yard line. He was second in the MIAA and ranked sixth in the nation in punting last season. As a sophomore, he was a First-Team All-MIAA pick, a Football Gazette honorable mention All-American and a First-Team CoSIDA Academic All-District performer.

In addition to Brungardt, the Hornets have a returning Football Gazette All-American on both sides of the football as well.

Senior quarterback Braden Gleason finished the season 321 of 472 for 3,404 yards with 33 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He added 281 yards and seven touchdowns rushing for 3,685 yards of total offense. He has scored or thrown a touchdown pass in 26 straight games dating back to 2019. He finished the year second in the nation in completions per game, fourth in points responsible, fifth in touchdown passes, sixth in completion percentage, seventh in passing yards and ninth in total offense. He was named Second-Team All-MIAA at quarterback despite leading the league in passing yards, total offense, and touchdown passes.

Senior defensive lineman Justin Williams was named First-Team All-MIAA last year. He was fifth in the MIAA with 7.5 sacks and sixth with 13.5 tackles for loss. He was Second-Team All-MIAA as a sophomore when he finished seventh in the MIAA in total tackles for loss and eighth in total sacks.

Emporia State is one of three MIAA teams and one of eight Super Region-3 teams in the top 25. The MIAA is in a Super Region with the Great American Conference (GAC), Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). Four of the top five teams in the Lindy’s ranking are from this Super Region.

Emporia State will have five home games this fall starting on August 31 at 7 p.m. against Lincoln. It will be the second straight year the Hornets have opened the season with a home game on a Thursday night.