Murray State University Athletics
Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics
2026 Recruiting Haul Continues For Wright & Racers
2/4/2026 6:15:00 PM | Football
The Racers open their 102nd season August 27 vs Eastern Illinois
Murray State head football coach Jody Wright and his staff enjoyed the first Wednesday in February as the final round of signings concluded the 2026 recruiting class.
A group of 61 new Racers, some already enrolled in classes at MSU and some set to join the team over the summer, provides a feeling that the Racers' fourth season in the Missouri Valley Football Conference will be better than their first three.
"We signed 22 guys mid-year, and that's important to a football program to have as many players as you can here right now working on their craft," said Coach Wright. "It's a building process and this class is very important to that."
Winning only a pair of MVFC games, and four overall in the last three seasons, the Murray State program ran more than 230 newcomers through the roster that severely limited the program's ability to have a good number of returners. In 2026, most of the 65 Â freshman from 2025 are coming back.
"We have a lot of talent on this football team moving forward ," Wright said. "We had to play a lot of freshmen last year and many of them were starters, but that's not ideal. But they're coming back and they're better and we begin to see that we're constructing rosters the right way for future success. We think that we have a lot of players that can be the stars one day. With our better players sticking with the Racers, it helped us be more selective in who we took."
With spring workouts beginning March 24, the Racers expect to have a large majority of their roster involved.
"We are all excited about that," Wright stated. "We're going to kick off spring training right when we get back from spring break and we're going to be able to have a full training period this time. It's all about reps and these young men need as many as they can get."
The Racers get the season going when they play the home opener at Roy Stewart Stadium (Aug. 27) against Eastern Illinois, before traveling to Middle Tennessee (Sept. 5). MSU Family Weekend (Sept. 12) finds MSU hosting Valparaiso and on Sept. 19, the Racers travel to play at Oklahoma State. MSU's fourth season in the MVFC begins (Oct. 3) at South Dakota State, before they come home for two in a row against South Dakota (Oct. 10) and homecoming (Oct. 17) against Northern Iowa. October rounds out with MSU at Illinois State (Oct. 24) and home against Indiana State (Oct. 31). The regular season finishes in November with games at North Dakota (Nov. 7) and Southern Illinois (Nov. 14). Â The MSU seniors will be honored at the final game (Nov. 21) when Youngstown State visits Stewart Stadium.
"I feel like we've upgraded every single position on the roster since last year," Wright said. "And when you have this many freshmen, it'll be how quickly they can develop and how can our returners improve from last season."
Follow the Racers on Twitter (@MSURacers), Instagram (@RacersAthletics), and Facebook to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Murray State Athletics. Follow Murray State football on Twitter and Instagram (@Racersfootball).
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A group of 61 new Racers, some already enrolled in classes at MSU and some set to join the team over the summer, provides a feeling that the Racers' fourth season in the Missouri Valley Football Conference will be better than their first three.
"We signed 22 guys mid-year, and that's important to a football program to have as many players as you can here right now working on their craft," said Coach Wright. "It's a building process and this class is very important to that."
Winning only a pair of MVFC games, and four overall in the last three seasons, the Murray State program ran more than 230 newcomers through the roster that severely limited the program's ability to have a good number of returners. In 2026, most of the 65 Â freshman from 2025 are coming back.
"We have a lot of talent on this football team moving forward ," Wright said. "We had to play a lot of freshmen last year and many of them were starters, but that's not ideal. But they're coming back and they're better and we begin to see that we're constructing rosters the right way for future success. We think that we have a lot of players that can be the stars one day. With our better players sticking with the Racers, it helped us be more selective in who we took."
With spring workouts beginning March 24, the Racers expect to have a large majority of their roster involved.
"We are all excited about that," Wright stated. "We're going to kick off spring training right when we get back from spring break and we're going to be able to have a full training period this time. It's all about reps and these young men need as many as they can get."
The Racers get the season going when they play the home opener at Roy Stewart Stadium (Aug. 27) against Eastern Illinois, before traveling to Middle Tennessee (Sept. 5). MSU Family Weekend (Sept. 12) finds MSU hosting Valparaiso and on Sept. 19, the Racers travel to play at Oklahoma State. MSU's fourth season in the MVFC begins (Oct. 3) at South Dakota State, before they come home for two in a row against South Dakota (Oct. 10) and homecoming (Oct. 17) against Northern Iowa. October rounds out with MSU at Illinois State (Oct. 24) and home against Indiana State (Oct. 31). The regular season finishes in November with games at North Dakota (Nov. 7) and Southern Illinois (Nov. 14). Â The MSU seniors will be honored at the final game (Nov. 21) when Youngstown State visits Stewart Stadium.
"I feel like we've upgraded every single position on the roster since last year," Wright said. "And when you have this many freshmen, it'll be how quickly they can develop and how can our returners improve from last season."
Follow the Racers on Twitter (@MSURacers), Instagram (@RacersAthletics), and Facebook to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Murray State Athletics. Follow Murray State football on Twitter and Instagram (@Racersfootball).
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