CORBIN, Ky. – The University of Pikeville football team has been picked as the preseason favorite to win the AAC championship this season.
 
Should it do so, the Bears will advance to the NAIA playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
 
The Bears are atop one of the strangest polls you'll ever see: UPike picked up only one first-place vote and was one of four of the seven teams to get a top-line selection.
 
The Bears picked up 36 ratings points, outdistancing second-place Reinhardt (Ga.) University by four points. The Eagles received two first-place votes.
 
Kentucky Christian was picked third in the conference and received two first-place votes and 28 ratings points. The Knights were followed by Bluefield (Va.) University, which got 24 points in the ratings.
 
The final first-place vote went to Point (Ga.) University, which finished fifth with 20 ratings points.
 
Union Commonwealth, with 19 ratings points, and Rio Grande (Ohio) with nine rounded out the poll.
 
The 2025 Bears had 13 all-conference players, eight of which are back this season. They're led by first-team All-America Grant Scott, a 6-4, 242-pound senior from Pikeville. He caught 34 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns last season.
 
Junior running back Amon Williams was a two-time all-conference selection a year ago, He was picked to the first team as both a running back and all-purpose player. A 5-7, 179-pound sophomore from Cumming, Ga., he finished the season with 753 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns in nine games. He averaged 4.5 yards per carry.
 
He was honored in the all-purpose category because he also hauled in 56 catches for 348 yards and another score. Finally, he wrapped up a stretch of 16 consecutive games scoring a touchdown. Williams will begin the season in a three-way tie for the most touchdowns in school history, having scored 30 in his first two seasons as a Bear.
 
Linebackers Najmir Bellegarde and Levi Evans are back after being named first-team all-conference a year ago. Evans is a 6-2, 237-pound junior from Kingsport, Tenn., who led the Bears in all three tackle categories.
 
He had 70 total tackles, 45 solos and 25 assists. He also had 16 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, four pass breakups, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He also blocked four kicks on the season.
 
Bellegarde, a 6-4, 204-pound junior from Dallas, Ga., had 64 tackles, 44 of which were solos. He totaled 11 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He also forced two fumbles, recovered one and had an interception.
 
Alex Hatton returns after being named first-team punter. The 6-4, 212-pound junior from Mt. Sterling averaged 40.83 yards per punt, buried the opponent inside the 20-yard line 13 times and had six punts travel at least 50 yards, including a season-best 65 yarder.
 
He is also in the running for the starting quarterback position.
 
Offensive lineman Zackary Brooks was a second-team selection a season ago. A 6-5, 315-pound junior from Pikeville, Brooks is coming off a solid season in the starting lineup where he helped the Bears to league-leading numbers in yards per game and receiving yards.
 
Placekicker Isaac Smith is a 6-1, 175-pound sophomore from Hixon, Tenn., who led the team in scoring a year ago thanks to a perfect 45-for-45 on extra-points, the first time in school history a kicker made 100 percent of his PATs. He also nailed 11 field goals. His 73 points was third in the league.
 
Defensive lineman Landon Rowe was also on the second team. Rowe, a 6-1, 282-pound junior from Pikeville, had 20 tackles, 14 of which were solos. He also recorded two sacks, a fumble recovery and blocked a kick.
 
UPike opens the 2026 season on Thursday, August 27 when it visits Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. EDT.
 
The home opener comes a week later when the Bears entertain Campbellsville University on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. at the W.C. Hambley Athletics Complex.
 
The preseason poll looks like this:
 
AAC Football Preseason Poll
School (First-Place Vote) - Total Voting Points
1. Pikeville (1) - 36
2. Reinhardt (2) - 32
3. Kentucky Christian (2) - 28
4. Bluefield - 24
5. Point (1) - 20
6. Union Commonwealth - 19
7. Rio Grande - 9