BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — Frostburg State was voted third in the Mountain East Conference football preseason poll, released on Monday.
The MEC head coaches vote on the poll and picked the University of Charleston number one.
The Golden Eagles are coming off a 10-2 season, including 8-1 in MEC play.
Charleston earned 77 votes and six first-place votes. The Golden Eagles were the MEC champions last fall and reached the second round of the Division II playoffs.
The Golden Eagles wrapped up the 2023 season ranked 19th in the AFCA Coaches’ Poll and 18th in the D2Football.com Top 25 Poll.
Running back Chavon Wright, last year’s MEC offensive player of the year, recorded 1,231 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns entering his redshirt junior season.
UNC Pembroke was picked second with 73 points and three first-place votes.
The Braves went 7-3, 6-3 in the MEC last season.
Defensive end Jamae Blank, a redshirt senior, was the co-MEC defensive player of the year last fall.
He recorded 49 tackles (21.5 for loss) with six pass breakups, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
Blank broke the program’s single season record with 12.5 sacks.
Frostburg State received 68 points during balloting and tallied the final first-place vote.
The Bobcats went 7-3 (6-3 MEC) and return first-team All-Conference defenders Leonard Scott, Colby Street and Wylan Harich to the field.
Scott returned to the field for the first time since 2021 and was fifth in the MEC with 13.5 tackles for loss and eighth with five sacks.
Street recorded 24 solo tackles and 46 combined, also breaking up two passes and intercepting four.
Playing linebacker, he was top five in interceptions in the MEC.
Harich is coming off back-to-back first-team All-MEC selections after recording 31 tackles with four pass breakups and a pick.
Fairmont State was picked fourth with 54 points during preseason balloting. The Falcons went 8-3 (6-3 MEC) a season ago and are under first-year head coach Luke Barker this season.
The Falcons return first team All-MEC standouts Joe Petryszak (OL) and Eltayeb Bushra (DB) this fall.
Petryszak helped Fairmont State’s offense average 33.4 points per game, the third-most in the MEC.
Bushra recorded 64 tackles (9.5 for loss) with six interceptions, nine pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
Glenville State was voted fifth (43) in preseason balloting, followed by Wheeling (39), West Virginia State (36), West Liberty (32), Concord (18) and West Virginia Wesleyan (10).
Frostburg kicks off its season at home against Millersville on Thursday, Sept. 5, at 7 p.m.
