Bronchos Debut At No. 5 In CRCA Preseason Poll

Central Oklahoma Begins 2026 Season March 14 In OKC

WILMINGTON, Del. – Central Oklahoma is ranked No. 5 in the country in the College Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Preseason Poll announced Wednesday.

Last year's champion Embry-Riddle (Fla.) is the No. 1 team in the poll and received all five first-place votes. Cal Poly Humboldt, Western Washington, and Seattle Pacific are also ahead of the Bronchos in the preseason coaches' poll.

Central Oklahoma is under the direction of first-year head coach Luke Reynolds, who took over the program in the fall and guided the Bronchos through a pair of regattas. UCO begins the 2026 season March 14 with Creighton in Oklahoma City.

The Bronchos will also compete against Tulsa and Drake in Tulsa next month. Central wraps up March competition with Milwaukee School of Engineering in Oklahoma City March 28-29.

In April, Central competes at the DII Invite in Clermont, Florida and the Knecht Cup in Pennsauken, New Jersey. The 2026 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships are scheduled for May 9 in Sacramento, California and the NCAA Division II Women's Rowing Championships are scheduled for May 29-31 in Gainesville, Georgia.

UCO finished fifth at nationals last May, earning a runner-up finish in the Varsity 4+ and a sixth-place finish in the Varsity 8+ race. The Bronchos have been a national contender for several years, competing at the national championships in each of the previous 13 seasons. Central Oklahoma won team titles in 2018, 2019, and 2021, with Varsity 8+ titles in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021, and Varsity 4+ titles in 2019 and 2021.

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