SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With just over seven weeks remaining before the opening game of the 2026 season, five members of the Sacramento State football team were named to the Athlon Sports Preseason All-MAC team.
 
Running back Jamar Curtis and defensive end Xavier Williams top the list as they were named to the second team. Curtis enters 2026 with 3,214 career rushing yards — the second highest total in all of NCAA Div. I (FBS/FCS). The Walford, Md., native has tallied 17 career 100-yard performances and has 11 games with multiple touchdown runs.

Williams returns for his seventh year with the program and is coming off a 2025 campaign which saw him credited with 32 total tackles, including 8.5 for loss and six sacks. Williams has played in 37 games during his career but has also seen his 2020 season canceled and missed all of 2021 and 2024 due to injuries.
 
Matt Coleman was named to the third team. Coleman spent the previous four years at San Jose State where he played in 36 games and had 66 receptions for 651 yards and three scores. He had at least 12 receptions in his three active seasons and set career highs with 12 catches for 119 yards against South Florida in The Hawaii Bowl following the 2024 season.
 
Linebacker Derek Houston, kicker Grant Meadors and tight end Jordan Williams were named to the fourth team. Houston was credited with 32 tackles in six games last season. That total included 14 stops against South Dakota State in the season opener. The previous season, he ranked second on the team with 62 total tackles.
 
Meadors finished 2025 with 87 total points after making 12-of-15 field goal attempts and 51-of-53 PATs. He earned Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week honors during the year after making four field goals, including a season-long 42-yarder, against Northern Colorado. He concluded the year ranked fourth in school single-season history in extra points and was just one field goal shy of moving into a tie for ninth in program history.
 
Jordan Williams is the leading returning receiver on the team. Williams played in all 12 games a year ago and finished the season with 15 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown.
 
Sacramento State will start its 2026 season on Aug. 29 with a MAC matchup at Eastern Michigan. The team's first home game will come on Sept. 5 against Mississippi Valley State. Season tickets for the six home games can be purchased now HERE.