BALTIMORE – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced its 2026 preseason football honors on Monday, highlighting the conference’s preseason predicted order of finish and preseason all-conference selections ahead of the upcoming season.

Defending MEAC champion South Carolina State has been selected as the preseason favorite. The Bulldogs earned 49 points and five first-place votes in the poll conducted by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.

North Carolina Central was projected to finish second with 42 points and one first-place vote, followed closely by Delaware State, which received 40 points and two first-place votes. Morgan State was picked fourth, followed by Norfolk State, which garnered one first-place vote, and Howard.

North Carolina Central wide receiver Chance Peterson was voted the 2026 MEAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while South Carolina State linebacker Jordan Franklin earned 2026 MEAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Peterson, a product of Wake Forest, N.C., ranked fourth in the MEAC in receiving yards (720) and fifth in receptions (48) and yards per game (60.0) last season en route to garnering Second Team All-MEAC honors.

Franklin, a native of Waynesboro, Ga., paced the Bulldogs with 62 total tackles, including 42 solo stops and 20 assisted tackles a season ago. He also led the team with 12.0 tackles for loss totaling 52 yards while adding 2.0 sacks for 26 yards. The 2025 First Team All-MEAC selection tied for the team lead with two interceptions, recorded four pass breakups, forced one fumble and recovered one fumble a season ago.

South Carolina State led all programs with nine student-athletes named to the Preseason All-MEAC First Team across offense and defense. North Carolina Central and Howard followed with four first-team selections each, while Morgan State earned three selections. Norfolk State and Delaware State rounded out the list with two first-team honorees apiece.

The 2026 MEAC football season officially kicks off on Saturday, Aug. 29, with the annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta. The matchup between Howard and Alabama A&M will air live on ABC at 7:30 p.m. ET.