SALISBURY, Md. – Presenting Roadie Joes Rankings for the first Wednesday in September and the first week during the 2025-26 athletics season. Salisbury University field hockey, football, and volleyball each begin their new campaigns under the national spotlight.
Field Hockey – 3rd | Penn Monto/NFHCA Division III Coaches Poll, Preseason
Salisbury begins the season with 443 points and three first-place votes, a single point behind second-ranked Tufts (444) and over 40 points clear of fourth-ranked Williams (402). Seven-time defending national champion Middlebury opened at No. 1 with 472 and all 16 of the other first-place votes.
The Sea Gulls got off on the right foot by taking down Stockton 5-2 in their 2025 opener.
Marli McDorman scored the first hat trick of the year, picking up State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Offensive Athlete of the Week honors in the process.
SU is back in action twice this week with a pair of road contests at Washington College on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and ninth-ranked Messiah on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Football – 7th | D3football.com Top 25, Preseason
Salisbury racked up 404 points heading into the first week of the season, clearing eighth-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor (393) and sitting behind sixth-ranked Hardin-Simmons (466). North Central (Ill.) [616], Mount Union (594), Johns Hopkins (521), Susquehanna (490), and St. John's (Minn.) [485] occupy the preseason top five.
Fresh off an NCAA Tournament quarterfinal appearance in 2024, the Sea Gulls will play their first three games of 2025 on the road. SU opens up at Washington & Lee, with kickoff from Lexington, Va., set for 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Volleyball – RV | AVCA/TARAFLEX Division III Poll, Week 1
Salisbury received 26 votes, seventh-most of the 25 programs bubbling under the top 25. SU landed between Dubuque (36) and Case Western (25).
The Sea Gulls went 2-1 during their season-opening Margie Knight Classic, sweeping Penn State Altoona and Thiel on Friday and Saturday, respectively, while dropping a 3-1 Saturday decision to sixth-ranked UW-Oshkosh.
Gwen Eustace hauled in Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Offensive Player of the Week after landing 33 kills at a .698 clip.
SU will play three more matches at home this week, battling Tufts on Friday at 4:30 p.m., Tufts again on Saturday at 11 a.m., and Gettysburg on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 205 conference championships, and have produced 53 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
