Greenville, S.C. – Three Catamounts landed on the 2026 Preseason All-Southern Conference teams released on Tuesday as part of the SoCon Football Media Day festivities at the Hotel Hartness.
 
Preseason All-America selection Ken Moore Jr. was named a first-team All-SoCon selection at defensive back, with wide receiver AJ Colombo, who returns from an injury that sidelined him in 2025, and offensive lineman Zach Watson earning second-team plaudits.
 
All 10 league teams were represented on the 2026 preseason All-SoCon team. ETSU landed a conference-best nine players on the two squads, including six on the first team. Furman had eight honorees, with a league-high six on the second team, followed by Chattanooga (7), with Wofford and Mercer both landing six, with the Bears putting each on the first team.
 
Additionally, on Tuesday, Western Carolina was picked fourth in the official preseason coaches' poll. After being picked third each of the past two seasons, this year's prediction is the lowest preseason selection for the Catamounts since a fifth-place pick in both the 2022 and 2023 polls.
 
Ken Moore Jr., DB – First-Team All-SoCon
Named to the Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America team and one of two Buck Buchanan Award nominees from the SoCon, Ken Moore Jr. was a first-team preseason All-SoCon selection at defensive back on Tuesday. The Miami, Fla., product earned first-team all-conference accolades in 2025, recording 43 tackles, including 28 solo stops and 5.5 tackles for loss, with a sack.
 
Originally from Miami, Fla., Moore Jr. has 96 career tackles over the past three seasons for the Catamounts, playing both corner and nickel. He has eight career interceptions, including four as a sophomore in 2024, with two interception returns for touchdowns. He enters his senior season tied for sixth in program history with 24 career pass breakups.
 
AJ Colombo – WR – Second-Team All-SoCon
A first-team All-Southern Conference selection as a junior in 2024, AJ Colombo returns from a spring practice injury that sidelined him all of 2025. With 10 starts, he ranked eighth in the SoCon with 590 receiving yards coming on a SoCon-best 61 receptions with five touchdowns. He averaged 53.6 receiving yards per game and nearly 10 yards per catch. The Waxhaw, N.C., native also had 22 punt returns for 174 return yards.
 
In three seasons for the Catamounts, Colombo has 97 career receptions for 1,064 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has also averaged 15.3 yards per game on 52 career punt returns for a combined 490 yards, adding 366 rushing yards for 1,930 all-purpose yards.
 
Colombo is a three-time SoCon Academic Honor Roll recipient and was named to the 2024 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. He was also a SoCon All-Freshman team selection on special teams in 2022.
 
Zach Watson, OL – Second-Team All-SoCon
For the second straight season, Zach Watson garnered a preseason All-SoCon selection, coming on the heels of a second-team All-SoCon nod in 2025. He started all 12 games along the offensive line a year ago between the center and guard positions, logging approximately 757 combined snaps. The Waycross, Ga., product helped the Catamount offense rank second nationally in total offense with 5,920 yards, averaging 493.3 yards per game, and led the nation in passing offense at 355.7 yards per game with 44 touchdowns. He is among three returners with significant starts along the WCU offensive line, joining Aaron Sanez and Steven Hamby.
 
As a redshirt freshman in 2024, Watson earned SoCon All-Freshman team plaudits and was a third-team Freshman All-America selection by Phil Steele.
 
Defending Southern Conference champion Mercer (76) edged conference newcomer Tennessee Tech (70), which won back-to-back OVC-Big South Association football championships by six points in the poll. The Bears received six of the possible 10 first-place votes, while the Golden Eagles had three. ETSU (61) collected the third first-place vote in a third-place prediction, just three points ahead of WCU (58) in the polling.
 
Chattanooga (48) edged Furman (46) for fifth and sixth, with Wofford (36), Samford (23), The Citadel (22), and VMI (10) rounding out the preseason poll.
 
Western Carolina football student-athletes officially report for 2026 fall camp on Wednesday, July 29, with practice opening the following morning, on Thursday, July 30, with the first of two helmet-only practices as part of the acclimation period. WCU opens the season at home, under the lights on Saturday, Aug. 29, by hosting Eastern Kentucky, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
Riding the momentum of three consecutive seven-win seasons – and four straight winning records at season's end – season tickets for the 2026 home schedule remain on sale now through the Catamount Athletics ticket office on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, by phone at (828) 227-2401, and online at CatamountSports.com.
 
Single-game tickets and parking for the 2026 home opener against EKU are on sale now, with the remaining five home dates available for purchase beginning Tuesday, July 28.
 
2026 Preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll
Team (1st-place votes)     Total
1. Mercer (6) – 76
2. Tennessee Tech (3) – 70
3. ETSU (1) – 61
4. Western Carolina – 58
5. Chattanooga – 48
6. Furman – 46
7. Wofford – 36
8. Samford – 23
9. The Citadel – 22
10. VMI – 10
 
2026 Preseason All-Southern Conference Football Teams
Offensive Player of the Year: Brayden Smith, WR/RS, Mercer
Defensive Player of the Year: Joshua Stoneking, DL, Furman
 
First team offense
QB – Quentin Hayes, The Citadel
RB – Jason Albritton, ETSU
RB – Leo Boehling, VMI
OL – Tyler Heggins-Hill, The Citadel
OL – Will McCraw, ETSU
OL – Brody Balliew, Mercer
OL – Tyler Murray, Mercer
OL – Aiden Donald, Chattanooga
TE – Charlie Browder, ETSU
WR – Brayden Smith, Mercer
WR – Preston Bird, Samford
 
First team defense
DL – Brenden LeBlanc, ETSU
DL – Joshua Stoneking, Furman
DL – Kobe McInnis, Mercer
DL – Orlando Daniels, Chattanooga
LB – Raleigh Herbert, Furman
LB – Jyarius Carter, Mercer
LB – Zion Rutledge, Chattanooga
DB – Mike Jenkins, ETSU
DB – Kam Baah-Slay, Chattanooga
DB – Ken Moore Jr., Western Carolina
DB – Eli Campbell, Wofford
 
First team specialists
PK – Ewan Johnson, ETSU
P – Ben Shrewsbury, VMI
LS – Tommy DiLiegro, The Citadel
RS – Brayden Smith, Mercer
 
Second team offense
QB – Jax Leatherwood, Tennessee Tech
RB – Marcus Harris, Tennessee Tech
RB – Gerald Modest, Wofford
OL – Chris Luna, Furman
OL – Noah Watts, Samford
OL – Eric Nunez, Tennessee Tech
OL – Bryce Burnett, VMI
OL – Zach Watson, Western Carolina
OL – Reggie Houston, Wofford
TE – Gerard Grewe, Tennessee Tech
WR – Josh Williams, Chattanooga
WR – AJ Colombo, Western Carolina
 
Second team defense
DL – Demetrius Baldwin, Furman
DL – Elihu Lipscomb, Furman
DL – Ky Tayo, Chattanooga
DL – Ramon McCollough, Wofford
LB – Dre Delinois, ETSU
LB – Isaiah Grevious, VMI
LB – Wyatt Ward, Wofford
DB – Jivon Oggs, ETSU
DB – AK Burrell, Furman
DB – Josh Tarver, Furman
DB – Jalen Nelson, Samford
 
Second team specialists
PK – Sam Spence, Wofford
P – Heath Jehu, Chattanooga
LS – Brock Winstead, ETSU
LS – Aidan Barr, Samford
RS – Caleb Easterling, Furman
 
NOTE: Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players or team.
 
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