Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton football team is ranked fifth in the 2026 Division III preseason poll released by D3football.com on Monday morning. The Thunder earns the recognition following a 2025 season that saw the program post an 11-3 record as Wheaton advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs where the squad fell to eventual national champion, UW-River Falls in frigid conditions in Wisconsin. The 11 victories posted by Wheaton last fall is the second-highest win total in program history. Wheaton was ranked seventh in the final D3football.com poll of the 2025 season.  

Wheaton's selection in fifth place in this year's preseason poll is the highest that the Thunder football program has been picked in the website's preseason list since 2021 when the team was picked fifth. This marks the 21st time that the Wheaton football program has been ranked in the website's preseason top-25 since D3football.com began its preseason poll in 2004. This year's selection marks the 19th-consecutive year Wheaton has been included in the preseason poll - the current streak dates back to the 2007 poll (there was no preseason poll in 2020).

Wheaton opens the season at home on September 5 as No. 3 ranked University of Mount Union visits McCully Stadium for the first time in a 1:00 p.m. (EDT) kickoff. Following a September 12 non-conference contest at Albion, the Thunder host Millikin for the 2026 CCIW opener at 6:00 p.m. Wheaton travels to North Central College on October 10 for the annual "Battle for the Little Brass Bell". The Cardinals are ranked No. 1 in the 2026 D3football.com Preseason Top-25 Poll, following a national runner-up performance in 2025.