By Tiffany Williams –
Rhode Island enters 2026 with the crown. Monmouth enters with a warning. New Hampshire and Elon are lurking. And the rest of the CAA is about to find out whether the conference still belongs to the Rams — or whether somebody finally has enough firepower to rip it away.
The preseason numbers leave very little room for interpretation.
Rhode Island is No. 7 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and No. 8 in the AFCA Coaches poll.
Monmouth checks in at No. 22 and No. 23.
New Hampshire and Elon are receiving votes in both polls. Stony Brook is receiving votes from the coaches.
Twenty-three CAA players landed on Phil Steele’s preseason FCS All-America teams.
Eight more were placed on national player-of-the-year watch lists.
Two CAA punters are already in the national award conversation.
This is not a conference entering the season quietly.
But everything still starts with Rhode Island.
The Rams have won 11 games in each of the past two seasons. They have reached the second round of the FCS playoffs in consecutive years. They have won 14 straight home games, the longest home winning streak in program history, and 10 consecutive CAA games dating back to 2024.
And the league’s coaches did not hedge.
Rhode Island received all 12 available first-place votes and 144 points in the preseason CAA poll.
Unanimous.
That is not respect.
That is a target painted directly across the front of the jersey.
Rhode Island brings back 15 starters, and the most important one may be quarterback Devin Farrell.
Devin Farrell passed for 3,746 yards and 24 touchdowns last season, numbers that ranked third in Rhode Island single-season history.
He enters 2026 as the CAA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and is already on the Walter Payton Award watch list.
That alone would make Rhode Island dangerous.
Then add Marquis Buchanan.
Marquis Buchanan has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each of the past two seasons, finishing with 1,124 yards in 2024 and 1,337 in 2025.
He enters his senior year with 202 career catches and 3,099 receiving yards.
He needs 29 receptions to tie New Hampshire’s Neil O’Connor for 10th in CAA history and 361 receiving yards to tie former Rhode Island receiver Aaron Parker for 10th on the conference career list.
Marquis Buchanan was a first-team Phil Steele preseason All-American.
He is also on the Walter Payton Award watch list.
So Rhode Island is not merely returning a quarterback and receiver.
It is returning one of the most dangerous quarterback-receiver combinations anywhere in the FCS.
And that is before getting to the defense.
Moses Meus recorded 110 tackles last year.
Rohan Davy had 101.
Both are back.
Moses Meus earned first-team Phil Steele preseason All-America recognition. Rohan Davy made the third team.
Both are surrounded by a defense that also returns Andre DePina-Gray, while Case Mankins earned preseason All-America recognition along the defensive front.
Tre Alexander received second-team honors on the offensive line.
Dillon Keough made the second team as a long snapper.
The Rams are loaded.
That does not mean they are untouchable.
It means everybody else knows exactly who has to be knocked off.
And Monmouth might be the team most capable of doing it.
The Hawks went 9-3 last season.
They return 14 starters.
They also return pieces from the top offense in FCS football.
Quarterback Frankie Weaver started Monmouth’s final five games last season and passed for 1,355 yards with 14 touchdowns against only three interceptions.
That is not a small sample of meaningless cleanup football.
Frankie Weaver took over late and produced.
Now he gets a full season.
Gavin Nelson and Tra Neal are back at wide receiver after combining for 59 receptions, 941 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Marcus Middleton gives the offensive line a preseason All-America presence.
And the entire operation now belongs to Jeff Gallo.
Jeff Gallo is technically a first-year head coach.
Do not confuse that with being new to Monmouth football.
Jeff Gallo has spent 21 years on the Hawks’ staff and has served as offensive coordinator since 2019.
The offense he helped build has been the best in the FCS over the past two seasons.
That makes this one of the more fascinating coaching transitions in the country.
Monmouth changed head coaches without tearing apart the identity that made it dangerous.
The architect stayed in the building.
Now he gets the keys.
The bigger question is whether Monmouth can defend well enough to turn nine wins into a championship run.
Eight regulars are back defensively, and none carries more preseason recognition than safety Jaeden Jones.
Jaeden Jones made 118 tackles last season, added 5.0 tackles for loss, intercepted a pass and broke up three more.
He was selected as the CAA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
He also earned first-team preseason All-America recognition from Phil Steele and landed on the Buck Buchanan Award watch list.
That matters because Monmouth already knows it can score.
The Hawks do not need to reinvent their offense.
They need to make sure opponents cannot simply survive the scoring race.
If that defense takes another step, Rhode Island’s path to another title gets considerably more uncomfortable.
Then there is Elon.
The Phoenix are not getting the same national ranking attention as Rhode Island and Monmouth, but dismissing them would be a mistake.
Elon has finished .500 or better in CAA play for five consecutive seasons.
Twelve starters return from last year’s 6-6 team.
Linebacker Brodie Carroll is the centerpiece.
Brodie Carroll piled up 104 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in 2025.
He was named a third-team Phil Steele preseason All-American and is on the Buck Buchanan Award watch list.
Running back Jimmyll Williams returns after rushing for 673 yards while averaging 6.5 yards per carry.
Kicker Luke Barnes hit 15 of 18 field goals and all 40 extra-point attempts last season, including five field goals from at least 40 yards.
Luke Barnes received first-team Phil Steele preseason All-America honors.
Tony Hart III also made the third team in the secondary, while Tim Hogan earned fourth-team honors on the offensive line.
Elon was picked third in the CAA preseason poll with 115 points.
There is a reason for that.
The Phoenix may not have Rhode Island’s headline résumé or Monmouth’s offensive reputation, but they have enough returning experience to become a problem.
New Hampshire is even more intriguing because everything familiar about the Wildcats is being handed to somebody who understands the program from the inside.
Sean Goldrich is back.
Only now he is not taking snaps.
Sean Goldrich, New Hampshire’s four-year starting quarterback from 2012 through 2015, returns to his alma mater as head coach after previously serving as quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator at Delaware.
He inherits a team that went 8-5 last year and has reached the FCS playoffs in three of the past four seasons.
New Hampshire returns seven starters on offense and six on defense.
Myles Thomason is one of the biggest names back.
Myles Thomason rushed for 736 yards and four touchdowns last season while averaging 12.9 yards per punt return.
He earned preseason All-CAA honors and was selected to Phil Steele’s fourth-team preseason All-America squad.
Trevor Barry led New Hampshire with 78 tackles as a freshman.
He recorded 10 tackles twice and led the Wildcats in tackles five times.
That is the kind of young defensive piece a new coaching staff can build around.
New Hampshire was picked fourth in the CAA preseason poll with 106 points and received votes in both national preseason polls.
The Wildcats are not entering 2026 as favorites.
They are entering as one of those teams nobody should want to see catch momentum.
Stony Brook is another.
The Seawolves went 6-6 last year and return 12 starters.
Seven of those returning starters are on defense.
Anthony Ferrelli recorded 109 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss and enters the season on the Buck Buchanan Award watch list.
Miles McGoy finished last season with eight pass breakups and earned third-team Phil Steele preseason All-America recognition.
Jojo Garcia led the CAA with four interceptions.
Sebastian Regis produced 10 tackles for loss and recorded at least one in nine different games.
That is a lot of defensive production coming back.
And quarterback Quinn Boyd gives Stony Brook something to watch offensively.
Quinn Boyd started the final five games last season and threw for more than 275 yards in each of his final four.
He exploded for 380 yards and three touchdowns against North Carolina A&T.
Stony Brook received one first-place vote in the CAA preseason poll and finished fifth with 105 points.
That single first-place vote stands out.
Somebody believes there is more there.
Towson enters with a different kind of pressure.
Andrew Indorf was named CAA Co-Offensive Rookie of the Year after passing for 2,344 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Now the question becomes what he does for an encore.
Kemarrion Battles rushed for 374 yards and three touchdowns as a freshman while adding 16 catches for 138 yards and another score.
Towson has finished .500 or better in CAA play in each of Pete Shinnick’s first three seasons.
The Tigers open at home against Maine, the first Thursday home opener for Towson since 2007.
And that game immediately matters.
There is no warm-up.
There is no easing into conference play.
CAA football begins with conference consequences.
Maine brings its own momentum.
The Black Bears won five of their first six CAA games last season and finished 5-3 in league play, their first winning conference record since 2018.
Four starters return on the offensive line.
Anthony Iliano and Andrew Kocan earned preseason All-CAA recognition.
Anthony Iliano also received third-team Phil Steele preseason All-America honors.
Rashawn Marshall rushed for 684 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman while catching 21 passes for 147 yards and another score.
Chris Bacon contributed 35 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.
Jamaree Gibson added 34 tackles and five pass breakups.
Maine is not carrying Rhode Island’s national ranking.
It does not need to.
The Black Bears already proved last year they can win conference games.
Now they have to prove they can sustain it.
UAlbany enters an entirely different era.
Tom Perkovich takes over after going 84-25 in 10 seasons at Susquehanna and winning four consecutive conference championships from 2022 through 2025.
Winning is not theoretical for Tom Perkovich.
He has done it.
Now he has to do it in the CAA.
Linebacker Dillon Dunathan returns after leading UAlbany with 71 tackles last season and earning honorable mention preseason All-CAA recognition.
Wide receivers Tavahri Groves and Jordan Rae combined for 37 catches and 513 yards.
Defensive lineman Isaiah Boyd contributed 22 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss in eight games.
The Great Danes open immediately against New Hampshire.
Again, there is no waiting.
Tom Perkovich’s first game at UAlbany is a conference game.
Welcome to the CAA.
Hampton also enters with a new coach.
Van Malone takes over after 23 seasons in college football, including significant experience at the Power Four level and seven seasons at Kansas State.
Hampton has defensive lineman Korede Sogbesan back after 61 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss.
Korede Sogbesan earned preseason All-CAA honors and fourth-team Phil Steele preseason All-America recognition.
Running back Gracen Goldsmith rushed for 323 yards and scored a team-high six touchdowns as a freshman.
And punter Brett Starling enters the season with national attention.
Brett Starling averaged 42.3 yards on 65 punts last year, with 12 traveling at least 50 yards and 10 landing inside the 20.
He is on the FCS Punter of the Year preseason watch list and the Fred Mitchell Award watch list.
Campbell also has a punter in the national conversation.
Brandon Bowman transferred from North Carolina Central after averaging 43.3 yards on 37 punts in 2025.
He had 13 punts of at least 50 yards and placed 10 inside the 20.
Brandon Bowman earned first-team All-MEAC honors and honorable mention BOXTOROW HBCU All-America recognition.
Now he joins a Campbell team that knows all about thin margins.
Seven of Campbell’s 12 games last season were decided by seven points or fewer.
That is brutal.
It also tells you special teams can swing a season.
Quarterback Kamden Sixkiller threw for 2,154 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for 216 yards and three more scores.
Linebacker Da’Vonyae Pettis had 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.
Campbell does not need a complete transformation.
It needs to turn a few of those one-score games.
Bryant opens with three consecutive road games.
That is unforgiving.
Quarterback Brennan Myer passed for at least 200 yards in four of his five starts last year before suffering a season-ending injury against Towson.
He threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns against Massachusetts.
Keylijah Williams averaged 24.9 yards per kickoff return and scored a touchdown, earning preseason All-CAA recognition as a returner and fourth-team Phil Steele preseason All-America honors.
Olatunde Mkparu recorded 42 tackles, two interceptions and five pass breakups and also landed on Phil Steele’s fourth team.
Bryant has weapons.
The Bulldogs are simply going to have to prove themselves away from home immediately.
North Carolina A&T finally broke through for its first two CAA victories last season, beating Hampton 33-30 and Campbell 28-24.
Now comes the next step.
Elijah Kennedy is the player capable of changing field position in one snap.
Elijah Kennedy ranked second nationally with 16.3 yards per punt return.
He averaged 19.6 yards on kickoff returns and added 25 receptions for 305 yards.
He has been named to multiple preseason All-America teams, earned second-team Phil Steele recognition as a punt returner and is on the HBCU National Player of the Year watch list.
Andrew Dorsey received honorable mention preseason All-CAA recognition on the offensive line.
Jonathan Kimbrough-Campbell recorded 67 tackles last season.
There is progress there.
Now North Carolina A&T has to turn progress into consistency.
Sacred Heart enters as the new variable.
The Pioneers are playing their first season as a CAA member after going 8-4 as an independent in 2025.
They are not walking into the league without a history of winning.
Mark Nofri has led Sacred Heart to five Northeast Conference championships and four FCS playoff appearances.
He is a five-time NEC Coach of the Year.
Quarterback Poochie Snyder threw for 1,866 yards and 11 touchdowns last year while rushing for 553 yards and seven more.
Mitchell Summers rushed for 1,060 yards as a freshman and scored 12 touchdowns.
That is not an expansion-level offense trying to figure itself out.
Sacred Heart has proven players.
Now the Pioneers get to find out exactly how those numbers translate into one of the deepest leagues in the FCS.
And that depth may be the biggest story of all.
Ten of the CAA’s 13 current members have reached the FCS playoffs since 2016.
The conference went 23-21 against non-conference FCS opponents last season, extending a streak of more than two decades in which the league has finished above .500 against FCS non-conference competition.
That matters.
This league is not built around one giant and a collection of passengers.
Rhode Island may be the favorite.
It is not getting a free ride.
The opening weekend makes that obvious.
Towson hosts Maine Thursday.
UAlbany hosts New Hampshire Friday.
Monmouth travels to No. 14 Tennessee Tech Saturday in a nationally ranked matchup.
Bryant visits Stonehill.
Campbell travels to ETSU.
Rhode Island visits Merrimack.
Stony Brook travels to Delaware State.
North Carolina A&T hosts Morgan State.
Elon hosts Glenville State.
Hampton hosts Virginia University of Lynchburg.
Ten games.
Three days.
And the preseason talking ends immediately.
The national recognition is impressive.
Twenty-three Phil Steele preseason All-Americans from nine CAA programs is impressive.
Rhode Island’s ranking is impressive.
Monmouth’s offense is impressive.
The watch lists are impressive.
None of it wins a game.
That is what makes 2026 fascinating.
Rhode Island has everything a defending champion should want.
The quarterback.
The receiver.
The linebackers.
The experience.
The national ranking.
The winning streaks.
The playoff résumé.
The unanimous preseason vote.
And all of that creates the one thing every champion eventually has to deal with.
Everybody is coming.
Monmouth is coming with Frankie Weaver, Gavin Nelson, Tra Neal and Jaeden Jones.
Elon is coming with Brodie Carroll, Jimmyll Williams and Luke Barnes.
New Hampshire is coming with Sean Goldrich back home and Myles Thomason carrying the football.
Stony Brook is coming with Anthony Ferrelli and a defense full of returning starters.
Towson has Andrew Indorf.
Maine has experience in the trenches.
Sacred Heart is walking into the league with an 8-4 team.
UAlbany has a coach who has spent four straight years winning championships.
The CAA does not need a manufactured storyline.
It already has one.
Rhode Island owns the crown.
Everybody else wants it.
And starting this week, the Rams have to prove all over again that nobody in the CAA is ready to take it.