Eastern Washington Eagles 2026 Season Preview

Best's Numbers Don't Match

Aaron Best's team finished 5-7 in 2025, but the No. 32 power rating tells a different story than the record does, this roster played better than a losing mark suggests. The .500 conference finish is the honest middle ground between those two signals, a team that beat itself in nonconference or close spots more than it got outclassed. Heading into 2026, the gap between how Eastern Washington rated and how it actually finished is the thing worth watching, not the record itself.

Regression Watch

Eastern Washington's conference record flattered a team that got outgained badly by league opponents, and a turnover margin unlikely to repeat papered over real structural issues. The offense stalled behind a bottom-heavy success rate and a middling ground game, while the defense leaked yardage against the run and through the air all year. Aaron Best's group returns plenty of experience by the raw team number, but with the yardage gap against Big Sky foes this stark, 2026 looks like the year the record catches down to the tape rather than the other way around.

Nate Bell takes the first-team reps into fall camp after throwing for 1004 yards with 7 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in 2025, but the job is not his outright. Jake Schakel (997 yards, 4 TD) pushed him all last year and is back to do it again, with Kaden Rolfsness and Anthony Quinones also in the mix. Whoever wins the room inherits an offense that managed just 4.83 yards per play (104th) and converted third downs at a 33.2% clip (98th), so the bigger issue for Eastern Washington in 2026 is less who starts at quarterback than whether Aaron Best can get more from the play in front of him.

Kevin Allen III's 259 yards and 4 touchdowns were the closest thing to a ground identity Eastern Washington had in a rushing attack that ranked 97th nationally at 122 yards per game, and he heads a backfield that still includes Wilson Medina and pass-catching option Marceese Yetts, whose 35 grabs for 287 yards gave the ground game a receiving complement. Talon Betts, Amir Dendy and Ryker Oswald return without stat lines to lean on, so Allen's between-the-tackles work has to carry more weight if Aaron Best wants to push that 4.83 yards-per-play mark higher. The staff also signed three-star Jaxon Bell out of high school, a projected addition to the room rather than a proven college producer yet.

Cole Pruett's 27 catches for 269 yards were the top return in a passing game that finished 53rd in yards per game but still bogged down badly on money downs, converting just 33.2% of third downs. Noah Cronquist and Nolan Ulm, who combined for the bulk of the downfield production the room graduates, are gone, leaving Wesley Garrett and Jaxon Branch, who each scored twice on limited touches, to carry more of the route tree. Oregon State transfer Jamai East and Beaverton signee Oliver Luebkert both join the room, with East bringing 5 catches and 56 yards of college experience and Luebkert arriving as a three-star prospect with no college stat line yet, giving Eastern Washington fresh bodies to pair with Pruett as it tries to push that offense past 104th in success rate.

Landon Cooper's 22 catches for 239 yards and 2 scores walk out the door, and no returning tight end approached that total, Zander Turner tops the group at just 4 catches for 15 yards. Kayden Stuit added 3 grabs and Will Roberts caught 1, so Eastern Washington's answer at the position is more about volume than a proven replacement. Kamden Segall arrives as an incoming addition to the room, but with a passing game that already ranked 53rd in yards per game and an offense stuck at 104th in success rate, Aaron Best needs someone in this group to turn short catches into the explosive plays this attack is missing.

A line that produced only 122 rushing yards per game and 4.83 yards per play, good for 104th nationally in offensive success rate, gets outside help up front. Ted Kuhrau arrives at tackle out of Lake Stevens, while Nate Cervantes and Blake Speer join the interior after signing out of Chino Hills and Chandler, respectively. With Aidan Corning among the departures, Aaron Best is banking on that trio to eventually push a group that stalled on 33.2% of third downs toward more consistent movement in the run game.

A defense that allowed 6.05 yards per play and 191 rushing yards a game last season needed help up front, and Aaron Best went and got it. Benjamin Tameifuna arrives from Corona Centennial to add bulk inside, while Cody Gasseling joins out of East Valley and Kaio Finau signs on from Berkeley to fill out the edge rotation. None of the three carry prior college stats, so the early returns come down to whether they can move the needle on a front that ranked 106th against the run and let opponents stay on schedule at a manageable clip, one of the few bright spots to build around.

Myles Mayovsky's 4 tackles were the top mark of any returning linebacker, which says plenty about how little production actually comes back after Read Sunn and Daniel Taumoepeau are gone. Samarai Anderson and Vincent Macaluso add modest tackle totals, while Tyras Blake, Gage Brumfield and Tyler Lepolo return without a statistical track record, and Jameson Wade arrives as a high school signee out of Red Mountain rather than a portal fix. That thin resume lines up with what Eastern Washington gave up on the ground, 191 rushing yards a game, 106th nationally, and the group's answer has to come from reps, not names already etched into the stat sheet.

Drew Carter is back after a 9-tackle season anchoring a secondary that gave up 247 passing yards a game, 103rd nationally, and Eastern Washington did not treat that lightly. Ambrose Marsh, Bryce Smith, Jaylon Jenkins, Josiah Goode and Dre Greeley all return, but the room got an overhaul at cornerback with transfers JT Taylor from San José State and Jordan Pierro from Louisiana Tech, plus high school signee Israel Nabors out of Sumner and Jordan Rife from Archbishop Murphy. Cameron Gilhuber joins at safety. The bones of the group stayed in Cheney while the corner spots got restocked, and how quickly Taylor and Pierro adjust to Big Sky offenses will decide whether that 111th-ranked yardage defense actually tightens up in 2026.

Soren McKee is the one settled piece here, having drilled 11 of 12 field goals with a 51-yarder in 2025, and Eastern Washington builds special teams around that leg in 2026. The punting picture is a bigger swing, since Landon Ogles and his 40.6-yard average are gone, leaving Luke Faccone to take over the job without any prior stats on file. Snapper Tyson Jacobson returns as the steady hand in that exchange, but the punt game is otherwise an unknown quantity Aaron Best has to answer with live snaps rather than track record.

Nate Bell

Eastern Washington threw the ball to two different quarterbacks for real production last season, and 2026 is projected to belong to Nate Bell over Jake Schakel, whose 997 yards and 4 touchdowns make him a real alternative if Bell stumbles. Bell's 1004 yards came with 6 interceptions against 7 touchdowns, and with Miles Williams back at receiver to catch his throws, tightening that ratio is what turns this offense from unsettled to functional.

Aaron Best's Home-Only Value

Eastern Washington went 4-1 straight up at home last year but just 1-6 on the road, and the spread tells the same story: bettors who backed Aaron Best's team at home cashed at a 60% clip, including a 2-1 mark when the Eagles were laid as home favorites. Away from Cheney, the numbers flip, with a 50% cover rate and a losing 40% mark as road underdogs. The road trips are where this price gets shaky, but a home line on Eastern Washington has been the one number on the card worth trusting.