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Reigning Champion Blue Dragons Football Ranked No. 1 in NJCAA D1 Preseason Poll

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KJCCC.org) – Defending NJCAA Division 1 Football National Champion Hutchinson Community College has been ranked number one in the NJCAA Football Division 1 preseason poll as three Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference teams hold top-15 preseason rankings.

Receiving all 12 first-place votes and a total of 150 points, the top-two teams in the preseason poll were unanimous with Hutchinson holding the top spot over 2024 NJCAA Division 1 Football National Runners-Up Iowa Western who received 140 points to be ranked second. Rounding out the top five of the poll is number three Northwest Mississippi Community College (122 points), number four Navarro College (117 points), and number five Georgia Military College (106 points).

The next highest-ranked KJCCC team is number seven-ranked Garden City Community College, as the Broncbusters enter the 2025 season and year two under head coach Kiyoshi Harris to set up a top 10 showdown in their season opener when they travel to Navarro College on September 6th. The KJCCC is also represented in the poll by number 13 Butler Community College after the Grizzlies secured a share of the 2024 KJCCC football regular season title last year and were the only team in 2024 to defeat Hutchinson Community College with a 27-22 victory at Hutchinson last year.

Of the 15 teams and the seven regions that are represented in the preseason poll, the KJCCC has the second-most teams in the poll, along with NJCAA Region 23 (Louisiana / Mississippi), while Region 14 (East Texas) has the most representation with four ranked teams. NJCAA Region 11 (Iowa) has two representatives in the poll, along with one each from Region 17 (Georgia Military), Region 18 (Snow College), and Region 19 (Lackawanna College).

Kicking off the 2025 NJCAA football season on opening weekend from the KJCCC is a pair of teams with Independence playing host to number 14-ranked Trinity Valley Community College at 11 AM on Saturday while Dodge City Community College will play at Tyler Junior College in a 7 PM start. Three other games will also be played on Saturday featuring NJCAA teams with the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference opening their season next Thursday while Bulter, Highland, and Independence all play games on Saturday, August 30th. Garden City, Hutchinson, and Coffeyville all will have their season openers take place on Saturday, September 6th, with the Broncbusters playing at Navarro, Hutchinson playing at New Mexico Military, and Coffeyville hosting Cisco College.