2023 Pioneer League Coaches Preseason Poll, all-Conference Team

August 3, 2023 by pioneer-football.org

St. Thomas, the defending Pioneer Football League champion, is the choice to win the league’s 2023 title as voted upon by the league’s head coaches.

St. Thomas received 98 of the maximum 100 points available, with coaches unable to vote for their own teams. Davidson followed closely with 92 points – putting the Tommies and Wildcats as the league’s clear frontrunners entering the 2023 season. Since St. Thomas is again ineligible the FCS playoffs, that scenario would leave Davidson as the conference representative.

Dayton and San Diego, perennial league favorites, were picked to finish third and fourth, respectively.

St. Thomas, which won its first PFL title last season in its second season as a league member, received eight of the 11 first-place votes and a second-place vote from two other coaches. Davidson, which finished second in the league race last season, finished second in the voting with two first-place votes and eight second-place votes.

Dayton narrowly earned the league’s third-place nod, its best preseason selection since 2019, when it was picked to finish second. San Diego received the remaining first-place vote and finished fourth in the voting. Both the Flyers and Toreros begin 2023 under new head coaches.

The surprise of the league last season, Butler won’t catch many of the league’s coaches by surprise in 2023, with it earning fifth place in the preseason poll. Valparaiso, the Bulldogs' in-state rival, was picked to finish sixth.

Marist, which finished tied with Valparaiso in sixth place last season, received a seventh-place nod in the preseason poll. Following the Red Foxes were Drake (38 points), Stetson (31 points), Morehead State (22 points), and Presbyterian (11 points).

The upcoming 2023 season marks the 31st year of the Pioneer Football League. The league will feature 11 teams, each playing an eight-game schedule to determine the league champion and recipient of the automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Championship.

The 2023 schedule gets underway Thursday, August 31, with Morehead State hosting West Virginia State before Valparaiso meets Youngstown State. The 2023 PFL race starts in Week 3 (Sept. 16) when Davidson travels to Marist.

Preseason Poll

All-PFL Team

The Pioneer Football League named 30 student-athletes to its Preseason All-Pioneer Football League Team Tuesday, including 12 returning First Team All-PFL selections.

Returning players named to the league’s 2022 All-PFL Teams were placed automatically on the 2023 Preseason All-PFL team, in order of head coaches voting.

Four of the PFL’s five major award winners from 2022 return for the 2023 season, led by reigning PFL Offensive Player of the Year quarterback Bret Bushka of Butler. He is joined on the preseason team by Butler’s punter and kicker Luka Zurak returns after claiming PFL Special Teams Player of the Year last season. Drake defensive lineman Finn Claypool also earned a Preseason All-PFL nod after earning Freshman Defensive Player of the Year recognition in 2022. Stetson quarterback Brady Meitz also returns after claiming Freshman Offensive Player of the Year honors but was not selected to the Preseason All-PFL squad.

Defending PFL Champion St. Thomas claimed six preseason selections, with returning First Team All-PFL selections in wide receiver Andrew McElroy and linebacker Jonathan Bunce leading the group. Also notching a Preseason All-PFL spot for the Tommies are running back Shawn Shipman, offensive lineman Alec Rasmussen, defensive back Yusef Leak, and McElroy with a second nod at return specialist.

Dayton had four student-athletes named to the Preseason All-PFL team. Butler, Davidson, Drake, and San Diego had three honorees each. Marist, Morehead State, and Valparaiso saw two student-athletes named to the Preseason All-PFL squad, while Stetson and Presbyterian grabbed one preseason selection each.