Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College football team will start the new season at No. 2 in the NJCAA Division I Preseason Rankings, which were released on Monday.
One year ago, the Blue Dragons went through the 2025 regular season undefeated to earn a berth in the NJCAA National Playoffs. After a 27-0 national semifinal victory over Northwest Mississippi at Gowans Stadium, the Blue Dragons came up short in the championship game, falling to Iowa Western 28-10 in Canyon, Texas.
The Blue Dragons open the 2026 season on Thursday with a matchup against the Cisco College Wranglers in a 7 p.m. kickoff at Gowans Stadium.
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Starting his seventh season, Hutchinson head coach Drew Dallas has 10 total starters (6 offense, 2 defense, 2 special teams) and 30 total players (16 offense, 11 defense, 3 special teams) returning from last year's KJCCC championship team.
The Blue Dragons have already been selected as the preseason favorite to claim the 2026 KJCCC championship.
Hutchinson will be playing another challenging schedule with three Top 10 opponents, five Top 15 opponents and seven overall opponents mentioned in the preseason rankings.
The Blue Dragons play host to No. 10 Garden City to open the 2026 league season on September 12 at Gowans Stadium. They then travel to play No. 14 Butler on September 19 before taking on No. 1 Iowa Western at Gowans Stadium on September 26 in a Noon kickoff.
In October, the Blue Dragons travel to No. 8 Coffeyville on October 17 before playing host to a pair of teams receiving votes in NEO on October 24 and Dodge City on October 31. The Blue Dragons close out the 2026 regular season on the road on November 7 at No. 15 Iowa Central.
Hutchinson has appeared in eight consecutive NJCAA Preseason polls dating back to the 2018 season.
With their inclusion in the 2026 preseason poll, the Blue Dragons extended their program record for longest consecutive run in the national poll to 64 weeks. The Dragons have been ranked in the top three of the NJCAA Rankings for 58 consecutive polls and have been ranked No. 1 in 51 of the 83 polls released in the Drew Dallas era.
The Top 5 has Iowa Western, Hutchinson, Northwest Mississippi, Tyler and Mississippi Gulf Coast.