2022 NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Preseason
NEW ORLEANS – Cross country is back!
Here is the preseason edition of the NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll for the 2022 season, as released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Remember that this poll is conducted by counting votes from 11 member coaches – one from each of the division’s nine regions (who also do the regional rankings) – as well as two members from the NCAA Cross Country Executive Committee.
NCAA Division I — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona
2
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State
3
Stanford
Stanford
4
BYU
BYU
5
Colorado
Colorado
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Water is wet. The sky is blue. Number 1 is NAU.
For the ninth consecutive installment and the 40th time in the past seven years, Northern Arizona tops the National Coaches’ Poll. There is a good reason for that, as the Lumberjacks won five of the past six national titles: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021 (NAU finished runner-up to rival BYU in 2019). All signs point toward another strong run by the Lumberjacks, as they return six of the seven athletes who helped them romp to glory in Tallahassee, Florida, including five All-Americans: Nico Young, Drew Bosley, George Kusche and Brodey Hasty all finished in the top-40 last year. NAU also added several talented freshmen in its recruiting class.
Oklahoma State is projected to be the Lumberjacks’ toughest challenger, as Dave Smith’s team collected one first-place vote and a plethora of seconds. The Cowboys, who finished third last year, will have home-course advantage as the nation’s best will convene in November at the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater. Six of the seven athletes from OSU’s scoring lineup return to the fold in 2022, headlined by a trio of All-Americans: Isai Rodriguez, Shea Foster and Victor Shitsama. Alex Maier is due for a big season after his runner-up effort in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field Championships this past June.
Stanford, which finished just off the podium last year, sits third in the preseason. The Cardinal hauled in two first-place votes from the coaches and justifiably so. Stanford had a pair of top-15 athletes last year in Charles Hicks and Ky Robinson, both of whom return. Cole Sprout is going to be looked at as a key cog in the Cardinal machine following a strong year on the track, where he earned three All-America honors in distance events and just missed a fourth outdoors.
BYU sits fourth, three years removed from its first national title in program history. The Cougars are looking to improve on a pair of top-7 finishes at the last two editions of the NCAA Championships. Back-to-back individual champion Conner Mantz is no longer on the roster and removed an ultimate low stick from BYU’s lineup, but Ed Eyestone will hope for more big things from 2021 top-10 finisher Casey Clinger. The Cougars also added Weber State transfer Christian Allen in the offseason. Allen has two career top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championships.
Colorado comes in at No. 5 with the season just days away. The Buffaloes, who finished eight last year, welcome back four athletes from that team (no All-Americans) and added Wisconsin transfer Seth Hirsch in the offseason. This is the 19th time since 1998 that Colorado garnered a top-5 ranking in the preseason. The Buffs have finished top-5 at the NCAA Championships in seven of the past 11 years, including back-to-back national titles in 2013 and 2014.
Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in the preseason: t-No. 6 Tulsa, t-No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 8 Washington, No. 9 Wake Forest and No. 10 Iowa State. This is the best preseason ranking in program history for the Demon Deacons and the first time they’ve ever been in the top-10.
Mark your calendars for November 19, as that’s when the 2022 NCAA DI Cross Country Championships will be held at the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Don’t forget that the championship races will be broadcast commercial-free once again on ESPNU.
