SAN DIEGO—San Diego was selected to finish first in the Pioneer Football League Preseason Coaches' Poll for the ninth straight season, as announced Tuesday by the league.
 
The Toreros won their seventh PFL title in the past eight seasons in 2018 and earned the automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs for the third straight year. 
 
USD was selected to finish first with 79 points and seven of the ten first-place votes. Dayton (65 points) and Drake (64) picked up the remaining three first-place votes, and were selected to finish second and third respectively. Marist was selected to finish fourth, followed by Davidson (48), Stetson (44), Butler (37), Jacksonville (30), Morehead State and Valparaiso (15-point tie).
 
The Toreros are coming off their third consecutive 8-0 season in the PFL and have compiled 29 consecutive conference wins dating back to 2015. USD returns a strong group of talented veterans on both sides of the ball, ready to compete for another league title. 
 
Senior wide receiver Michael Bandy highlights the returners on the offensive side of the ball. A consensus All-American in 2018 and 2019 Preseason All-PFL selection, Bandy set the USD records for receiving yards in a season (1,698) and receiving yards in a single game (324) in 2018 and will look to build another strong year for USD. 
 
Senior wide receiver and return specialist Michael Armstead was also a preseason All-PFL selection after an electrifying 2018 campaign that earned him PFL Special Teams Player of the Year. 
 
Preseason All-PFL selections Nick Friedel (DL) and Kama Kamaka (LB) will head up a veteran group on the defensive side of the ball with eight starters returning. 
 
The upcoming 2019 season marks the 27th year for the Pioneer Football League – the nation's only non-scholarship, football-only NCAA Football Championship Subdivision conference. The league will feature 10 teams each playing an eight-game schedule to determine the league champion and recipient of the automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Championship.
 
USD kicks off the 2019 season on Aug. 31 at 2 p.m. (PT) against Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The Toreros' home opener is scheduled for Sept. 7 against UC Davis at 2 p.m. (PT) in Torero Stadium.