PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – After making a second straight trip to the NCAA Championships in 2025, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team was picked to finish atop the conference standings in the 2026 WIAC Preseason Poll that released on Friday afternoon.
The Pioneers enter the season ranked No. 6 according to D3football.com, topping four other WIAC members inside the preseason top 25. UW-La Crosse was picked second in the WIAC poll and sits No. 10 in the rankings.
UW-River Falls, the reigning NCAA Division III champion, was picked third in the conference and is ranked one spot behind UW-Platteville on the D3football.com poll. No. 12 UW-Whitewater was the fourth WIAC team to compete in the NCAA championships last year and enters 2026 predicted fourth on the conference poll.
The back half of the WIAC predictions include UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stout Polytechnic, UW-Stevens Point, and UW-Eau Claire. UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stout are both receiving votes on D3football.com.
Head coach
Ryan Munz, in his fifth season, has guided the Pioneers to three straight winning seasons, including back-to-back nine-win campaigns. After receiving an opening round bye in the NCAA Championships last season, UW-Platteville beat Alma 24-7 at home before falling the following week at Bethel.
Munz welcomes back a group that sees eight starters return on each side of the ball. Overall, 23 letterwinners are back on offense, with another 22 on the defensive side.
Junior quarterback
Nathan Uselding returns to pilot the offense after earning WIAC Honorable Mention recognition in his first season as starter. He totaled 2787 passing yards and 22 touchdowns while adding another six scores on the ground.
Leading the backfield will be senior running back
Zackary Bothun, a 2025 WIAC First Team honoree. Bothun averaged a conference-best 88.5 rushing yards per game and scored 13 touchdowns on the ground, third-most in the WIAC.
Lining up at wide receiver will be senior
Kristian Gavric and junior
Jaxson Garbisch. Gavric finished second on the team with 697 receiving yards and five touchdowns, while Garbisch missed much of the season due to injury but produced 236 yards and three scores over the first three contests.
The offensive line remains a strength for the Pioneers and returns a pair of All-Conference members from last season. Senior guard
Jonah Larson was a Second Team selection, while junior center
Nicholas Brattleaf was named Honorable Mention.
Defensively, senior defensive back
Harrison Meyer and senior linebacker
Elijah Krantz return to lead a unit that allowed just 18.9 points per game. Meyer came away with four interceptions last season, tied for the team lead, in addition to 62 tackles to earn All-Conference honors for the second straight season with his First Team selection. Krantz, a Second Team member, paced the Pioneers with 88 tackles and 8.0 tackles for loss.
Senior
Cormac Sammons leads the defensive line after totaling 45 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss last season. Joining Meyer in the secondary for the Pioneers will be junior cornerback
Rob Francis, who broke up a team-high 10 passes and made 44 tackles in 2025.
Two-time First Team All-WIAC punter
Benjamin Younker returns to help flip the field for UW-Platteville. Younker averaged 41.2 yards per punt across 39 attempts and placed 14 inside the 20-yard line.
The Pioneers open the season at home on Saturday, September 5 against Aurora University. Conference play begins at UW-Stout on October 3, with UW-Platteville returning home the following week on October 10 for Homecoming against UW-Eau Claire. The final home game of the season will be the George Chryst Memorial Bowl versus UW-Whitewater on November 7.
