GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Barton College Football Team was picked to finish fourth overall in the 2025 Conference Carolinas Preseason Poll, league officials announced earlier today. The conference is sponsoring football for the first time in 51 years.
North Greenville and UNC Pembroke were tied at the top of the league poll with 32 points apiece. The Braves received four first-place votes while the Trailblazers tallied three first-place votes.
The Bulldogs had three Conference Carolinas Players to Watch: sophomore defensive lineman
Joshua Hightower (Smithfield, N.C.), junior linebacker
Keno Jones (Rocky Mount, N.C.) and sophomore running back
Jackson Parrish (Graham, N.C.).
Hightower finished with 46 tackles last year including two takedowns for a loss while Jones had 39 tackles (4.5 for a loss) and a fumble recovery last fall. Meanwhile, Parrish led the team in rushing yards (556) and touchdowns (nine) and was named to the 2024 All-South Atlantic Conference Piedmont Division honors.
Barton opens the season on Thursday, August 28, at 7:00 p.m., when the Bulldogs host Virginia State at Electric Supply Company Stadium and Truist Stadium. Barton faces North Greenville in the first-ever Conference Carolinas game on Saturday, September 13, in Tigerville, S.C., starting at 7:00 p.m.
2025 Conference Carolinas Football
Preseason Poll
1t. UNC Pembroke 32 (4)
1t. North Greenville 32 (3)
3. Shorter 26
4. Barton 22
5. Chowan 18
6. Erskine 11
7. Ferrum 6
