KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Montana Western is ranked fifth in the preseason 2025 NAIA Coaches' Poll, leading five Frontier Conference teams in the rankings, which were released Monday.
Joining Western in the top 25 are Montana Tech at No. 11, Dickinson State at No. 13, Southern Oregon at No. 22 and Carroll at No. 25. College of Idaho is in the receiving votes category.
The Bulldogs went 10-2 in 2024, won their second consecutive Frontier championship and defeated Dickinson State in the second round of the playoffs. It was Western's first NAIA playoff win since 1994 and just the second in program history.
Western, which was voted by the coaches as the preseason favorite in the new-look Frontier's West Division, returns All-American quarterback Michael Palandri, who passed for 3,670 yards and 34 TDs last season and rushed for another nine scores.
The Bulldogs kick off their 2025 season with a non-conference game against rival Montana Tech. The 11th-ranked Orediggers went 9-3 last season and hosted a playoff game for the second year in a row. Coaches tabbed Tech as the preseason favorite in the Frontier's East Division.
Dickinson State went 10-2 last season and won the North Star Athletic Association championship for the 10th consecutive season. Southern Oregon was 8-3 in 2024, and Carroll was 7-3.
Reigning NAIA champion Grand View (Iowa) is the unanimous No. 1-ranked team in the top 25. Keiser (Fla.) is second, followed by Morningside (Iowa) in third and Benedictine (Kan.) in fourth. View the complete poll.
