2026 Valley City State Vikings football team
| 2026 Valley City State Vikings football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Frontier Conference |
| Record | 0–0 (0–0 Frontier) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Dustin Yorek (6th season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Gregg Horner (30th season) |
| Home stadium | Lokken Stadium |
The 2026 Valley City State Vikings football team represents Valley City State University in the Frontier Conference during the 2026 NAIA football season. The team is led by 30th-year head coach Dennis McCulloch and plays its home games at Dacotah Bank Field at Lokken Stadium in Valley City, North Dakota.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 27 | TBD | at Southwest Minnesota State* |
| |
| September 3 | TBD | Dickinson State* | ||
| September 19 | TBD | Eastern Oregon* |
| |
| September 26 | TBD | at Simpson (CA)* |
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| October 3 | TBD | at Rocky Mountain |
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| October 10 | TBD | at Mayville State |
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| October 17 | TBD | Dakota State |
| |
| October 24 | TBD | at Dickinson State |
| |
| November 7 | TBD | Montana State–Northern |
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| November 14 | TBD | Montana Tech |
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| ||||
Personnel
Coaching staff
- Dennis McCulloch – Head Coach / Defensive Backs (33rd season)
- Gregg Horner – Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers (33rd season)
- Dustin Yorek – Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks and Wide Receivers (8th season)
- Brandon Bouma – Recruiting Coordinator / Running Backs / Tight Ends / Kickers (10th season)
- Raynor Beierle – Offensive Line (2nd season)
- Leon Smith – Offensive Graduate Assistant / Offensive Line (2nd season)
- Nate Pecoraro – Defensive Line (6th season)
- Trent Kosel – Offensive Assistant (5th season)
- Dave Rausch – Defensive Assistant (39th season)
Acquisitions
Incoming transfers
Over the off-season, Valley City State added 5 players from the transfer portal and junior college levels [2].
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Hometown | Year | Eligibility Remaining | Prev school | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Thompson | OL | 6'3" | 280 | Milwaukee, WI | Junior | 2 | Concordia University Wisconsin | |
| Barrett Luce | OL | 6'4" | 310 | Omaha, NE | Junior | 2 | Wayne State College | |
| Ryan French | TE | 6'3" | 220 | Lansing, KS | Junior | 2 | William Jewell College | |
| Michael Cardonita | WR | 6'3" | 190 | Melrose, NM | Sophomore | 3 | New Mexico Military Institute | |
| CJ Merritt Jr | DB | 6'3" | 175 | Minneapolis, MN | Sophomore | 3 | Mesabi Range College |
Incoming freshman
Over the offseason, Valley City State added 27 players from the high school level.[3]
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Hometown | Year | Previous school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major Ness | RB | 6'1" | 180 | Barnesville, MN | Freshman | Barnesville High School |
| Landon Ralph | OL | 6'2" | 230 | Wahpeton, ND | Freshman | Wahpeton High School |
| Tanon Johnson | LB | 6'0" | 200 | Kindred, ND | Freshman | Kindred High School |
| Tucker Jones | DL | 6'0" | 200 | Verona, ND | Freshman | LaMoure High School |
| Jeremiah Barnes | DB | 6'1" | 190 | St. Cloud, FL | Freshman | St. Cloud High School |
| Naz Fisher | RB | 5'9" | 200 | Grand Forks, ND | Freshman | Grand Forks Central High School |
| Sawyer Hope-Audet | WR | 6'3" | 200 | Caldwell, ID | Freshman | Caldwell High School |
| Berkley Frantz | WR | 6'0" | 170 | Wishek, ND | Freshman | Wishek Public School |
| Nixon Buchmiller | WR | 5'11" | 180 | Harvey, ND | Freshman | Harvey High School |
| Micah Tostenson | DL | 6'1" | 195 | Twin Brooks, SD | Freshman | Milbank High School |
| Wyatt Sugg | LB | 5'10" | 185 | Glasgow, MT | Freshman | Glasgow High School |
| Oliver Melin | DL | 6'4" | 240 | Trail, MN | Freshman | Red Lake County Central High School |
| Andres Good | OL | 5'11" | 225 | Minot, ND | Freshman | Minot North High School |
| Micah Gonzalez | K | 5'8" | 175 | El Paso, TX | Freshman | Franklin High School |
| Tayveon Russell | DB | 6'0" | 170 | El Paso, TX | Freshman | Chapin High School |
| Gabe Whipple | QB | 6'1" | 170 | Kindred, ND | Freshman | Kindred High School |
| Phillip Pogue | DL | 6'0" | 205 | Colorado Springs, CO | Freshman | Harrison High School |
| Charlie Yon | LB | 5'11" | 190 | Thompson, ND | Freshman | Thompson Public School |
| Brayden Medeiros | QB | 6'0" | 210 | Kapolei, HI | Freshman | James Campbell High School |
| Champ Colburn | WR | 5'8" | 150 | Aiea, HI | Freshman | Aiea High School |
| Tevis Vogl | OL | 6'1" | 260 | Fromberg, MT | Freshman | Laurel High School |
| Zyree Shannon-Terrell | DB | 6'1" | 260 | Minneapolis, MN | Freshman | Robbinsdale Armstrong High School |
| Junior Lefano | DL | 6'0" | 200 | Anchorage, AK | Freshman | South Anchorage High School |
| Wyatt Stephey | OL | 6'0" | 285 | Ewa Beach, HI | Freshman | Moanalua High School |
| Pono Momoe | OL | 6'2" | 290 | Ewa Beach, HI | Freshman | James Campbell High School |
| Canon Betts | WR | 5'9" | 170 | Rochester, WA | Freshman | Olympia High School |
| Jeffrey Yoder | TE | 6'2" | 190 | Lewiston, ID | Freshman | Lewiston High School |
Postseason awards
References
- ^ "Frontier Conference announces 2026 football schedule". fcsports.org. January 27, 2026.
- ^ "Viking Football announces five transfers to join program for 2026". Valley City State University. January 26, 2026.
- ^ https://vcsuvikings.com/news/2026/2/2/viking-football-announces-32-signees-on-national-signing-day.aspx