HELENA, Mont. – The Frontier Conference has released its Preseason Men's and Women's Basketball Coaches' Poll. Both the Carroll College Men's and Women's teams were picked second by the league's coaches ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Reloaded with talent and ready to chase after titles in the new look 12-team Frontier Conference, the Fighting Saints were tabbed in a tie for second place on both the Men's and Women's side of the action.

Each Frontier Conference school will play a total of 22 conference games on their 2025-26 schedule, playing home-and-away contests with each institution - 11 at home, and 11 on the road.

The first conference contests of the season are scheduled for mid-November with traveling partners facing each other. 

The top eight teams in the Frontier Conference standings will advance to the postseason tournament, hosted by Montana Tech at Civic Center in Butte.  The four-day conference tournament begins with a pair of quarterfinals on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28, followed by the semifinals on March 1, and the championship game on March 2 .

The Frontier Conference will have two automatic bids for the NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament, starting with the First and Second Rounds on March 13-14, 2026.  The opening round winners advance to the final site at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., on March 19-24, 2026. The league will also have two automatic bids for the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament, starting with the First and Second Rounds on March 13-14, 2026.  Those opening round winners advance to the final site at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, on March 19-24, 2026.

The first automatic berth will be awarded to the regular-season champion.  The second berth will be awarded to the Frontier Conference Postseason Tournament Champion.  In the event the regular-season champion is the tournament champion, then the second berth will be awarded to the regular-season runner-up.

Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.  The Frontier Conference has expanded to 12 full-time institutions this year.

First place is worth 11 points, second place is worth 10 points, third place is worth nine points, and so on to the last place with one point. 

Below is the complete 2025-26 Frontier Conference Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll:
 

2025-26 Frontier Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rank	School (First Place Votes)	Total Points
1	Montana Tech (11)	121
T2	Carroll (Mont.)	89
T2	Montana Western (1)	89
4	Providence (Mont.)	81
5	Dickinson State (N.D.)	75
6	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	73
7	Bellevue (Neb.)	71
8	Mayville State (N.D.)	53
9	Dakota State (S.D.)	50
10	Montana State-Northern	39
11	Valley City State (N.D.)	34
12	Bismarck State (N.D.)	17

Below is the complete 2025-26 Frontier Conference Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll:
 

2025-26 Frontier Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rank	School (First Place Votes)	Total Points
1	Dakota State (S.D.) (11)	121
T2	Carroll (Mont.)	101
T2	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	101
4	Providence (Mont.)	91
5	Montana Tech (1)	81
6	Bellevue (Neb.)	68
7	Montana State-Northern	58
8	Valley City State (N.D.)	55
9	Mayville State (N.D.)	37
10	Dickinson State (N.D.)	35
11	Montana Western	32
12	Bismarck State (N.D.)	12