EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Men's Golf was predicted to finish seventh in the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll in a vote submitted by the league's head coaches.
 
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock claimed the top spot in the preseason poll with eight first-place votes and 98 points. The Trojans are coming off an OVC championship in 2025. University of Tennessee at Martin finished second with two first-place votes and 85 total points. Tennessee Tech University rounds out the top three with 81 points, four points ahead of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, which finished with one first-place vote and 77 points.
 
Morehead State University was predicted fifth with 68 points, and Lindenwood University was sixth with 55 votes, 11 votes ahead of USI. Bryant University, Eastern Illinois University, Tennessee State University, and Western Illinois University rounded out the standings with 32, 29, 19, and 16 points.
 
As part of the OVC's preseason announcement, senior Carter Goebel was named to the OVC Men's Players to Watch list. Goebel is coming off an outstanding fall season, where the senior averaged 72.53 strokes per round, including a 214 three-round score at the Grover Page Classic hosted by UT Martin last September.
 
The Eagles return to the course on February 23 in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the Gulf Coast Collegiate hosted by New Orleans University. The event will feature 13 other universities, including familiar foes Tennessee Tech and Eastern Illinois. USI returns to Evansville for a versus match against the University of Evansville on March 20 at Fendrich Golf Course.