The Indiana Football Coaches Association released its 2026 preseason coaches poll this week — and while one result was about as unanimous as it gets in Indiana high school football, the rest of the rankings told a story of a state where parity is real, competition is fierce, and the weekly scoreboard is going to matter more than any preseason projection.
Here is what stood out.
CLASS 6A — Bulldogs By Acclamation
Brownsburg received 100 percent of the first-place votes in the Class 6A coaches poll. Every coach who cast a ballot looked at the two-time defending state champions, looked at the returning pieces — Oscar Frye, Branden Sharpe, Dami Sowunmi, a backfield that added Bobby Thomas from Pike — and arrived at the same conclusion without hesitation.
That level of consensus is rare. It reflects not just respect for what Brownsburg has done, but genuine belief that the program is positioned to do it again. The three-peat is not a media narrative. The coaches themselves are endorsing it before a single regular-season snap has been played.
Beyond Brownsburg, the 6A poll becomes significantly less certain — and that’s the more interesting story. Several programs are tied in first-place votes behind the Bulldogs, which tells you everything about how competitive the class is once you get past No. 1. Westfield, Center Grove, Lawrence North, Warren Central, and Carmel all have the roster credentials to make noise. The 6A bracket is loaded from the second spot down.
CLASS 5A — New Palestine Hunts a Three-Peat of Their Own
Brownsburg isn’t the only program with a three-peat on its mind. New Palestine earned the top spot in the 5A coaches poll — and the respect behind that vote is significant. The Dragons won the Class 4A state championship in 2024, moved up to 5A via the success factor, and won that title too in 2025. They are now in 5A again in 2026, chasing what would be three consecutive state championships across two classifications. That kind of sustained postseason excellence demands the top vote — and the coaches delivered it.
But the warning attached to that No. 1 ranking is real. Indiana Preps would not be surprised to see the 5A rankings change on a weekly basis. The class beneath New Palestine is as strong and as deep as any classification in the state. The teams listed behind the Dragons have the talent, coaching, and scheduling to test them early — and the 5A race figures to be one of the most competitive top-to-bottom in Indiana all fall.
CLASS 4A — Four Teams, Zero Separation
East Central lands at No. 1 in the 4A coaches poll — but the story in this classification is how evenly the first-place votes were distributed. Out of the ten first-place votes cast, they were split across the top four programs. East Central earned the top line, but Roncalli, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, and Bishop Chatard are separated from them by fractions of poll points and coaching opinions, not talent gaps.
That split in the voting is the coaches telling you something: they genuinely don’t know who the best team in 4A is yet. And the schedule is going to start answering that question immediately. Fort Wayne Dwenger and Roncalli meet in a Week 1 rematch — a game that carries the weight of last year’s rivalry and the immediate stakes of a classification where every poll point matters. That game will tell us more about 4A than any preseason projection can.
Chatard will have something to say. So will every other program in this bracket that received first-place votes. Class 4A in 2026 is going to be a fight from the first Friday to the last Saturday in November.
CLASS 3A — Andrean Steps Up and Steps In at No. 1
Andrean won the Class 2A state championship last season. They move up to 3A in 2026 under the IHSAA success factor. And the coaches who voted in the preseason poll looked at that program, that coaching staff, and that culture — and put them at No. 1 in their new classification immediately.
That is a statement of respect. Moving up a class after a state title is never easy, and history is littered with programs that found the jump harder than expected. The coaches are saying they don’t expect that from Andrean.
The 3A field has legitimate programs ready to push back. Gibson Southern has been a consistent postseason presence. Lawrenceburg and Evansville Memorial carry tradition and talent. And keep an eye on Adams Central and Tri-West Hendricks — both programs capable of making a strong case as the season unfolds. The 3A race won’t be decided in August.
CLASS 2A — Brownstown Central Holds Court, But the Champ Is Coming
Brownstown Central — the 2025 Class 2A runner-up — earns the No. 1 spot in the preseason poll, a reflection of their sustained excellence and a roster returning from a state finals appearance. Indianapolis Lutheran checks in at No. 2, tied with Lapel — programs with postseason pedigree looking to reassert themselves after recent runs.
Defending Class 3A champion Cascade drops to 2A and lands at No. 4 — a program that won a state title one classification up and now enters a field that will test them from a different angle. And at No. 5, South Putnam — the defending Class 1A state champion — makes their 2A debut after moving up via the success factor. The defending 1A champ entering a new classification at No. 5 in the preseason poll is a quiet statement from the coaches: they’re watching, and they’re not underestimating what South Putnam brings.
CLASS 1A — Riverton Parke at the Top, Traditional Powers Behind
Riverton Parke earns the No. 1 spot in the Class 1A preseason poll — and the names behind them read like a who’s who of Indiana small school football tradition. Pioneer at No. 2. South Adams at No. 3. Milan at No. 4. North Judson at No. 5.
Pioneer made the Class 1A state championship game a season ago, losing to South Putnam. South Adams and Milan are programs with championship DNA. North Judson rounds out a top five that gives the 1A classification the kind of depth that makes every November game meaningful.
Class 1A will produce a champion that nobody saw coming — that’s the nature of the classification. But the preseason top five gives you the names worth watching from Week 1.
The Bigger Picture
The 2026 IFCA preseason coaches poll tells one clean story and five complicated ones. Brownsburg is the unanimous choice in 6A — that part is simple. Everything else involves tied votes, split ballots, defending champions in new classifications, and programs with unfinished business from 2025.
That is what makes Indiana high school football worth watching every Friday night from August through November.
The full poll is below.