MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas University football is back on the practice field as the Muleriders prepare for the 2026 season, and Head Coach Brad Smiley believes his team is building toward something special both on and off the field.

Smiley recently invited South Arkansas Now to take a look at the Muleriders during fall camp and spoke about his expectations for the upcoming season, his players’ commitment to the community, and his goal of making sure every student-athlete has the best possible experience at SAU.

One of the points Smiley takes particular pride in is the Muleriders’ commitment to serving the community. Last season, the program was recognized as the national champion in community service, following back-to-back runner-up finishes the previous two years.

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For Smiley, however, success extends well beyond what happens between the lines.

“I want to give every single one of our players the best experience possible at SAU,” Smiley emphasized, while also stressing the importance of helping his players grow academically and developmentally during their time in Magnolia.

On the field, the Muleriders enter the 2026 campaign following a strong 8-3 season in 2025. Southern Arkansas dominantly closed last season, defeating the University of Arkansas at Monticello 49-10 in the annual Battle for the Timberlands.

New Quarterback Leads New Faces

One of the biggest changes heading into this season comes at quarterback, where the Muleriders have added transfer quarterback CJ Montes.

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Montes began his collegiate career at New Mexico before transferring to Fordham University. During his time with the Rams, he threw for more than 3,000 yards, 26 touchdowns and just one interception. He recorded five games with more than 300 passing yards, including a 400-yard performance, and led the Patriot League in passing touchdowns. His impressive season earned him recognition as a finalist for the Walter Payton Award.

Montes later transferred to Kent State, where he was named the team’s Week 1 starter and appeared in two games, completing 10 of 19 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown before suffering a season-ending injury. 

The Muleriders will also look to Arkez Gomez to provide production in the backfield. Gomez served as the team’s starting running back last season while sharing carries with multiple players. He finished 2025 with 103 rushing attempts for 562 yards and three touchdowns.

Gomez was also a factor in the passing game, catching 19 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns. He even added a passing touchdown to his stat line.

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El Dorado’s JJ Samuel Joins the Muleriders

Among the familiar names on the Muleriders’ roster is El Dorado High School alumnus JJ Samuel.

Samuel comes to Magnolia after an impressive 2025 season with the Wildcats, rushing for more than 1,100 yards on fewer than 200 carries while accounting for more than 20 total touchdowns.

His addition gives SAU another local product with proven production at the high school level.

Wilkins Stadium Set for Major Facelift

While the Muleriders prepare for the season, changes are also coming to their home field.

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SAU has announced a three-phase facilities enhancement project for the football program, with the first two phases already funded through private gifts and pledges from alumni and friends of the university.

The first phase will focus on revitalizing Wilkins Stadium’s exterior, including new metal, brick and signage designed to give the facility a more modern appearance.

The second phase will bring a significant change to the playing surface. SAU plans to remove the existing artificial turf and install Pivot Performance Turf, a newer turf technology designed to provide grass-like performance while offering consistent traction and controlled release for athletes. According to the university, Southern Arkansas will be among the first universities in the country to utilize the technology.

The final phase of the project will be announced at a later date as details continue to be finalized.

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The renovations will be completed by GeoSurfaces, a Tencate Company that has previously worked on several SAU athletic facilities, including Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field, Dawson Field at the Margaret Downing Softball Complex, the Dawson Athletic Complex and the Mulerider Track and Field Complex.

The project is being funded entirely through private support, with donors set to receive recognition, including select facility naming opportunities, once all phases are completed.

Muleriders Open at Home in September

The Muleriders will open their 2026 home schedule on Saturday, September 12, at 6 p.m., when they welcome Oklahoma Baptist University to Wilkins Stadium.

With a strong returning core, several new additions to the roster, a new quarterback and major improvements coming to their home facility, Smiley and the Muleriders enter the season looking to build on last year’s 8-3 campaign.

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But for Smiley, the measure of the program will continue to be bigger than wins and losses.

The Muleriders will once again look to compete on the field while representing Southern Arkansas University through academics, player development and service to the Magnolia and surrounding communities.

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PARIS, TN – One week after two South Arkansas youngsters represented the Natural State at the Bassmaster Junior National Championship, another local duo is making plenty of noise on the national stage.

Kolby Michael, a junior at El Dorado High School, and Nash Taylor, a junior at Lakeside High School, have earned a coveted spot in the final day of the Bassmaster High School National Championship on Kentucky Lake in Paris, Tennessee, after surviving one of the largest and most competitive fields in high school bass fishing.

The pair qualified for the national championship by finishing fifth at the Arkansas Youth Bass Nation High School State Tournament. While only the top three teams typically advance to nationals, two of the teams ahead of them had already secured national berths, allowing Kolby and Nash to receive an invitation.

“You know, there were 64 boats in the state tournament and to come in the top five was great,” Taylor said. “Then getting a berth in the national tournament was even better.”

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Although this is their second trip to the national championship, the team knew they had an opportunity to accomplish something few Arkansas anglers ever have.

“In all the years of this tournament, we are only the third team from Arkansas to ever qualify for fishing the final day,” Kolby said.

Unlike the junior division, where all teams fish multiple days, the high school championship features a dramatic cut after the second day. Of the 216 teams that began the tournament, only the top 25 would earn the right to compete on Championship Saturday.

Leading up to the event, practice had been anything but predictable.

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“It was like nothing, nothing, nothing… and then BAM, we’re catching them,” Nash said. “And then it would just shut off.”

That unpredictable pattern carried into the opening day of competition.

“We didn’t get to our spot until about 7:20 that morning,” Michael explained. “We had a late boat number, like 168 or something, so it took a long time to get there. We didn’t get a bite until about 9:30, and then we got our first keeper in the boat. We caught the rest of our keepers between then and about noon.”

At the Day One weigh-in, the pair brought three largemouth bass, the tournament limit, to the scales for a total of 11 pounds, 4 ounces, placing them inside the tournament’s top 15.

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Still, neither angler felt comfortable. Knowing, in a tournament like this, one or two fish can completely change everything.

Day Two brought more of the same roller coaster.

“Kolby lost a good one… and I mean a real good one this morning around 9:30,” Nash said. “But shortly after that we got our first keeper in the boat, and then we kept catching them until about 12:30. After that, there was nothing.”

As teams gathered for the second weigh-in, the tension was unmistakable. Only 25 teams would survive the cut.

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When Kolby and Nash stepped onto the stage, their three-fish limit weighed 9 pounds, 7 ounces, giving them a two-day total of 20 pounds, 11 ounces.

When the final standings were posted, the team found themselves tied for 15th place, comfortably inside the cut line and officially headed to Championship Saturday.

Beyond the tournament itself, the week has also provided an opportunity to pursue their future goals. Both young men hope to continue their fishing careers at the collegiate level on scholarship.

They said numerous college fishing coaches have attended the national championship throughout the week, and Nash plans to continue showcasing his skills by attending the College Fishing Combine in September.

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Before turning their attention to the tournament’s final day, both anglers made it clear they didn’t reach this stage alone.

They expressed their appreciation to Lakeside Fishing Team sponsor Christy Culbreath and Arkansas Youth Bass Nation State Director, Luci Johnson for their continued support and encouragement.

With a spot in the championship round already secured, Michael and Taylor have already made Arkansas bass fishing history. Now, they’ll spend Saturday chasing something even bigger: a Bassmaster High School National Championship.

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KENTUCKY LAKE, TN – The first day of the Bassmaster Junior National Championship is in the books, and South Arkansas anglers Ben Langley and Preston Phillips have put themselves in position to make a run at a national title.

The Arkansas duo brought three bass, the tournament limit, to the scales Friday, posting a total weight of 6 pounds, 10 ounces. At the time of this writing, that performance places the team inside the Top 40 among more than 150 of the nation’s best young anglers.

Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that more than 60 teams failed to weigh a single fish on a day that proved to be every bit as challenging as tournament officials and professional anglers predicted.

After several days of difficult practice, Ben and Preston said they had located a handful of productive areas and planned to rely on those spots once competition began.

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That strategy paid off.

On a lake where every bite has been hard-earned, simply finding three keeper bass proved to be an accomplishment. Their opening-day catch keeps them well within striking distance heading into the tournament’s final day.

The boys’ success comes as no surprise to those who have followed their journey.

Just six weeks ago, Ben and Preston punched their ticket to the national championship with an impressive performance at Millwood Lake near Ashdown, Arkansas. Their five-fish limit weighing 20.75 pounds secured a second-place finish and earned them the opportunity to represent Arkansas on one of youth bass fishing’s biggest stages.

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Now, with one day remaining, the dream is still very much alive.

If they can build on Friday’s momentum and capitalize on the productive areas they discovered during practice, Ben and Preston could climb even higher in the standings before the final fish is weighed.

No matter where they finish, the two young anglers have already represented Arkansas with determination, composure, and the kind of grit that championship fishing demands.

Saturday will decide the final standings, but after surviving one of the toughest opening days of the tournament, Ben Langley and Preston Phillips have earned the chance to keep chasing a national championship.

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KENTUCKY LAKE, TN – On the eve of the biggest fishing tournament of their young lives, 12-year-old Ben Langley and 13-year-old Preston Phillips lean over the speaker of Ben’s mother’s iPhone, their voices carrying a mixture of excitement, confidence, and just a hint of nervousness.

In just a few hours, the two South Arkansas anglers will launch their boat onto Kentucky Lake to compete against the best youth bass fishermen in the country at the Bassmaster Junior National Championship. It’s a moment they have dreamed about, and one they earned with determination, skill, and a memorable day on the water six weeks ago.

That day began like so many others on Millwood Lake near Ashdown, Arkansas.

The boys were casting lures into lily pads when everything changed.

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Even now, they can replay every detail. They remember the exact spot. The exact lure. The exact strike. And the exact moment they realized they had done enough to qualify to represent the State of Arkansas on the national stage.

Their five-fish limit weighed an impressive 20.75 pounds, nearly three pounds ahead of the third-place team. The second-place finish secured their ticket to Kentucky Lake and a chance to compete for a national title.

Now, standing on the doorstep of that opportunity, they know nothing will come easy.

“We’ve had a hard time,” Preston admitted after several days of practice. “But we have a couple of spots locked in where we know we can catch some fish.”

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Ben echoed his partner’s optimism.

“Yeah, it’s been tough, but we found a couple of places where the fish are. We’ll definitely catch some out of there.”

That confidence will be tested on one of the nation’s premier bass fisheries.

Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series professional angler John Garrett said Kentucky Lake is fishing well, but success won’t come from simply following one pattern.

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“A little bit of everything is going to be going on,” Garrett said. “There isn’t going to be one obvious pattern to catch sizable bass. A three-pounder is going to be great, and anything over that is a big one.”

Garrett explained that summer bass are holding deeper than many anglers are accustomed to.

“Normally we fish from 12 to 20 feet of water. In July, they like to be in 20 to 30 feet. They’re harder to find because they sit on the edges of the breaks. The teams who find that will be well off.”

For Ben and Preston, the challenge is exactly what they’ve spent countless hours preparing for. Their countless days on Arkansas lakes have led them here, to a tournament where every cast could change their lives and where they have the chance to bring a national championship back home.

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Before heading to the water, the boys made it clear they didn’t make this journey alone. They expressed heartfelt gratitude to the businesses and supporters who helped make this opportunity possible, including Langley Oil, Smackover Motors, Honey Hole Tackle Shop, RATS, 4R Marketing, Country Village Sporting Goods, Hooked Outdoors, and Murphy Sumac Mart.

When the first cast is made this weekend, two young anglers won’t just be fishing for trophies. They’ll be representing their families, their hometowns, and the entire State of Arkansas, carrying with them the hopes of everyone who has cheered them on from that unforgettable day at Millwood Lake to the bright lights of the Bassmaster Junior National Championship.

EL DORADO, Ark. — South Arkansas College sophomore third baseman Kenner Lauterbach has been named an NJCAA Division II Baseball Honorable Mention All-American following a standout season for the Stars.

Lauterbach, a native of Benton, Louisiana, completed his junior-college eligibility after serving as a two-year starter for SouthArk.

During his sophomore campaign, Lauterbach posted a .479 batting average, ranking second nationally among players with at least 100 at-bats.

His performance helped lead SouthArk to a 38-17 record during the season.

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Lauterbach becomes the second athlete in South Arkansas College history to earn NJCAA All-American recognition.

He joins former SouthArk teammate Justin Szymanski, who received the same honorable mention distinction last year after completing his junior-college eligibility with the Stars.

The recognition adds another milestone for the SouthArk baseball program as it continues building its presence on the national junior-college stage.

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