With the 2025-26 season nearly over and the 2026-27 season coming right around the corner, it’s time to look at the teams and see where the Bulldogs could end up next year.
Football
The Ferris State football team won its fourth National Championship in five years, and two separate back-to-back championship-winning seasons under head coach Tony Annese. The Bulldogs will look to three-peat and win five in six years, which has never been done at the Division II level. To help with the quest, Ferris football announced 45 recruits on signing day back in February. 29 players came from Michigan, including athlete Luke Ahern from Rockford, who will join his brothers Zak and Ryan. Also from Rockford is linebacker Sam Cummings. Ferris State also continues its tradition of recruiting out of the Florida pipeline, bringing seven signees this year, including a pair of cornerbacks in Jaylon Ammons from Deerfield Beach and Bill Brown from Miramar. In total, the Bulldogs got 23 signees on offense, 17 on defense, with four others being able to play any position. With a strong recruiting class, as well as retaining key pieces from last season, Ferris State will be the team to beat in the fall.
Basketball
With a new head coach for the men and women, fresh off a trip to the NCAA playoffs, next year is looking bright. For the women, the 2025-26 season marked back-to-back years where they lost in the GLIAC Championship game, both to rival Grand Valley. After losing key players like guards Elle Irwin, Kadyn Blanchard, and forward Mya Hiram, the team looked to the new recruiting class to help. Three players have committed to Ferris State. Jozelynn Begick, a guard from Freeland, Gracyn Carrier, a guard from Chippewa Valley, and Shayler McIntyre, a forward from Garber.
As for the men following a 10-18 season, the hiring of Brooks Miller as the team’s 15th head coach makes next season one to watch. Miller led Division III Trine University to the 2024 National Championship. Miller has already started to make additions to the roster, including transfer David Williams, a guard from Miles College. Players from the Grand Rapids area have also committed out of high school to Big Rapids, including Jovon Daniels from Hudsonville and Kyle Brown from Forrest Hills Northern.
Hockey
Following a season in which the team had a first-round exit in the CCHA Mason Cup, the Ferris State hockey team is looking to take the next step. After winning eight games in the 2025-26 season, the Bulldogs, coached by Brett Riley, looked to the portal to try and bolster the team, where eight players transferred to Big Rapids, including Massachusetts transfer and 2022 seventh-round NHL draft pick by the Detroit Red Wings, forward Owen Mehlenbacher. In 32 games for the Minutemen, Mehlenbacher recorded nine points (3-6-9). Other transfers include a pair of forwards from Western Michigan in Zach Bade and Ryan Kusler.
Volleyball
Following a 27-win season that included a trip to the Division II National Championships, the Ferris State volleyball team looks to continue its deep playoff runs behind head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm. To help with that, the Bulldogs signed four recruits from the Midwest, including a pair from Illinois in middle hitter Rosie Krenz from Chenoa and outside hitter Laney Snow from Wapella. With these recruits and players from the portal, the Bulldogs will look to make a run in the 2026 season.